The Wings Stayed On!: Why I support MAF

Saturday, March 10, 2007

3 comments:

Jade said...: Hey, cool that you work with MAF. I've kinda had a dream of that too. But it can be challanging leaving the regular work force, eh? My college was really based around MAF so I got some good disclosure. Maybe join ya someday.; Mar 12, 2007 3:26:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Hi Aluwings.... I noticed the MAF link on the sidebar last week and was gonna send you a message asking you what your interest in MAF was. It's great to get some publicity for them. I dont know what your background is but im a "mishkid" from Nepal, hence some knowledge of the great humanitarian work that missionary groups are doing in Africa and Asia. Safe flying.... Zarniwoop; Mar 13, 2007 1:53:00 AM
Aluwings said...: I've been asked if I see myself one day actually flying with MAF. Really, I don't. I'm way too wimpy to handle the demanding working conditions. But for someone younger, and more 'up' for the adventure physically, emotionally and spiritually, I suspect there's no more satisfying career in aviation.

A couple of years ago I was chatting with one of our pilots who'd just returned from a tour of duty in war-torn Angola. MAF secured the cooperation of both the government and rebel forces so our pilots could fly across front lines keeping a local hospital open to care for and feed refugees caught in the crossfire.

"At the end of the day you can be exhausted," he said. "But when you know that day you put food in the mouth of a hungry child, it's a 'good tired.'"; Mar 13, 2007 7:38:00 AM

What"s this about?

An eclectic series of articles based on my experiences as a commercial pilot. Sometimes behind-the-scenes tales; sometimes more technical descriptions of Jet Transport Aircraft - and the people who fly them. While the stories are based upon actual experiences and real people, I use composite characters and made-up names*. If they seem familiar, they are. They're the people you live and work with every day. The world is full of interesting people - if we only knew!

The title of this blog comes from my first observation after test-flying my home-built aircraft: "The wings stayed on!" And later I realized that life is often like that. We are continually faced with new adventures. And though we study and train and prepare as much as we can, finally we have to launch and put all this preparation to the test. And unexpected things still happen. As the bumper sticker says, Life Happens. And we deal with it - hopefully with a good dose of humour and hope. And if the "wings stayed on!" well at least that's the main thing. And everything else is just details.

My stories are usually drawn from looking back over my career, which thankfully has been pretty dull. Trust me. When flying a commercial airliner, boring is good. You wouldn't like exciting... So don't expect many stories about engines exploding, and wheels falling off, and cabins catching fire. Though that kind of stuff goes on, thankfully, it hasn't been my experience. My stories are the more mundane things, the little things that inhabit real life.

And while mundane is the reality of modern airline flying, still it's an amazing feat, a dramatic and dynamic accomplishment that we shouldn't take for granted. Perhaps day-in, day-out our world-wide airline industry represents our civilizations' most complex achievement. And though it has become mundane we should never forget that the real drama lies in the times when these bigger disasters are too close for comfort. The times when some small factors could produce seriously different outcomes.

Sometimes all the calm around you is an illusion -- a little like the movie Jurassic Park where the investors are touring the not-quite-ready-for-opening facility, while the technicians thrash away at command central, trying to keep everything together - trying to keep up the facade that it's all under control. But if it is, it's not by much.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Like everyone in the airline industry who's blogging, I'm hoping to write a book, and I'm practicing on you folks. I'm always trying to hone my story-telling skills so if you have any comments please leave them. Also, please respect the copyright thing.

Thanks.

Aluwings