Quietly Efficient.
Quietly Efficient. My dad was a man of few words but when they were uttered – you listened. He wasn’t one for social settings and small talk, preferring the solitude of a good book, or crafting something from wooden crates on his garage bench. …
Halfway and Hopeful.
Halfway and Hopeful. The halfway mark has been reached. Three months ago, I was in ICU having undergone major surgery. In three months, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) can commence proceedings to review my case for returning to the sky. Almost without exception, the …
6th February 1952. Air Combat Over Korea.
71 years ago today, my father went very close to losing his young life – and I wouldn’t have been born to write these words. He was looking for a downed comrade on the white North Korean snow who had been forced to eject from …
Clipped Wings.
Clipped Wings To the north and south, dark clouds with ragged bases bubbled high into the upper atmosphere. The ongoing rumble of thunder was intermeshed with the sudden cracks that follow lightning weaving to the ground. In a gap between nature’s tantrums, a patch of …
Journeys.
Everyone’s journey is different. As Kirrily and I sat on the tarmac at the Air Force base watching the most recent cadets graduating from their promotion courses, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to experiencing a touch of emotion and nostalgia. As the cadets’ …
Flying with my Wife.
Flying with my Wife. Over the decades, I have been extremely fortunate in the diversity that my airline career has provided. From charity charter flights to viewing Antarctica from above and even the final flight of the venerable Boeing 747 after it completed nearly half …
Auld Lang Syne.
Auld Lang Syne. Unbelievably, 2022 is now down to its final hours. Another year has passed with the children a little older, me none the wiser with the skies out of reach for the moment. After two years in the pandemic wilderness, 2022 saw me …
First Solo. 41 Years On.
First Solo – an event that few aviators ever forget. Through planning or good fortune, I have generally flown on the anniversary of that first flight. On the 25th anniversary, I organised to fly a light aircraft in Queensland where I was on holidays. …
The Final Boeing 747.
This week the final Boeing 747 rolled off the production line at Boeing’s Everett facility in the United States. Its bare metal fuselage covered in a green vinyl coating, belying its future colours as a freighter for Atlas Air. In an era of inbuilt obsolescence …
On Reflection.
On reflection, there are many magnificent memories that come to mind after forty years of flying. Surprisingly, one that always rises to the surface is not a memory that you would necessarily expect. My father was my flight instructor and the expression “tough but fair” …
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