A Wing and a Prayer

I don’t like to fly. Never have. Probably never will. Unfortunately, my job often requires me to fly, and no matter how much I do it, I still don’t like it. So, don’t tell me that it gets better with time—it doesn’t for me. I’m glad if you enjoy flying and can’t get enough of it. For me, if I never fly again, that was still one time too many!

There are many reasons I don’t like to fly, I’ll save you from those reasons right now, but the story below gives me pause about how dangerous flying can be. And yes, I know this story is about a pilot of a small plane, and it could never happen on a commercial airliner, but do you really think that will help my irrational fear of flying? Of course not! I’m not going to let it!

It seems that a British pilot last week lost his sight after suffering a stroke mid-flight from Scotland to Essex. The pilot was eventually talked through a safe landing by a crew of Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots sent to his aid.

Jim O’Neill, 65, put out a mayday call after a suspected stroke caused blood to put pressure on his optic nerves, blinding him. A Royal Air Force team was scrambled to guide the two-seat Cessna to safety. (And, since I am afraid of flying—I assume to shoot it down if it became a mass destruction type of weapon.)

With help from air traffic controllers O’Neill managed to land the plane on his fourth attempt.
“I should not be alive. I owe my life—and those of dozens of people I could have crash-landed on — to the RAF. It was terrifying. Suddenly I couldn’t see the dials in front of me.”

RAF Captain Mark Hopkins told the paper, “The royal Air Force has the best pilots and air traffic controllers in the world. This team effort from Linton-on-Ouse lives up to its reputation. Shepherding aircraft in this way is something we do from time to time, but this is a very strange case.”

I hope it is strange! And, I hope they never have to do that again. Especially if I am ever on board a small plane like that with a pilot who has a stroke! Then again, if that were to happen, I’m glad to know they’ve got experience to help talk us down! I just hope they know how to restart a stopped heart—because I have no doubt that would be the case with my heart at that moment!

The Greatest Birthday Present! Ever!

The ultimate man’s toy could be yours at last! That is, if you have the checkbook to pay for it.

What man toy do I have in mind? Oh simple. There’s a Harrier fighter jet currently being sold on eBay!

The plane is a decommissioned Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 that was in service between 1987 and 1997. It served with all three Fleet Air Arm Harrier squadrons.

Do you know what a Harrier fighter plane is? As a kid, I was amazed by the Harrier fighters! These were the planes that could take off like a helicopter, no runway was required. They would lift straight up off the ground and land in the same fashion, straight down. They were amazing to watch, especially after seeing normal planes, especially jets that needed long runways to take off and land. The Harrier was the perfect jet for aircraft carriers and to use in rough terrain areas—with their capability of landing and taking off with zero runway—wow!

I always thought that if I were not afraid of heights and wanted to be a pilot, that’s the plane I would have wanted to fly! It was just so different, so unique.

Well, now, any of us can own our very own Harrier! But anyone wanting to take to the skies in this particular plane will be disappointed. It is not airworthy. There is no engine fitted. Many of the internal systems have been removed or made inoperative. Even the cockpit has been stripped out—oh, they did put in a mock cockpit so, from the outside, it appears to have a seat fitted.

Well, despite the age of the plane, the fact that it has no engine, internal systems, or even cockpit, the auction price has already exceeded $40,000—that’s just “a little” out of my price range!

The plane’s owner said, “This is a rare opportunity. You will not find a static display Harrier this complete for sale anywhere else in the world. The aircraft is externally complete to static display/museum standards and would make a truly stunning garden feature or museum exhibit.”

A garden feature? Is that like a Koi pond? A rock garden? A rose garden? Can you see yourself coming home, telling your wife, “Honey, you’ll never guess what I bought for the backyard—you’re going to love it!”

Oh, just in case you are interested in the plane, it is currently in Bradford, England, and can be shipped to many countries around the world to the buyer and assembled.

And, in case you’d like to know, my birthday is coming up in a couple of months. Email me privately and I’ll give you my mailing address, if you’d like to “surprise” me (and my wife, of course). I know we would love it in our backyard, and so would my neighbors! Sure beats the trampoline they have in theirs!