A high-flyer going places

Do airline passengers still applaud pilots after landing? That's the question posed to me by my uncle, the actual Blogger here, Paul, author of Sailing to Purgatory, and other titles.

Paul asked if I could let readers know about the airline world from my side, from the crew's side, about my life up there.

He suggested perhaps I might offer a couple of hundred words. That will be a challenge! I could probably write a book.

I fly the Boeing 777 for Air New Zealand. I started my flying career as a young teenager, the local airport hangar rat.

I would ride my pushbike to the airport - a 20km round trip - most weekends, getting involved with any aviating that was going. This eventually led me to join the NZ Air Force as a technician when I was 18.

An unsuccessful application for military pilot didn't deter me, and after seven years of engineering - and another failed attempt - I finally convinced the commanders to let me earn my wings.

Keep up or else

The Air Force Wings course was the most difficult and challenging thing I have ever done. No matter how hard one studied and visualised, a fixed number of flights meant little to no flex to practice when things got difficult…. Continues on the blogs for my ocean sailing adventure book, Sailing to Purgatory, at SailingToPurgatory.com