Salon again

I ran into a Freedom Airlines pilot a week ago at Kennedy airport. We were standing in line together, catching a flight to Boston. He was a captain (four stripes), but looked about 17 years old. I was trying to figure out which company he flew for, but couldn’t make sense of the star-spangled logo on his I.D. badge. So I asked him.

“I fly for Freedom,” he responded.

I wasn’t sure if he was answering my question or making a political statement. I wanted to put my arm on his shoulder. “We all do, son. We all do.”

I am still laughing as I write this, this is an excerpt from one of my favourite columns, it is by Patrick Smith of Salon.com, check out this weeks episode from a career pilot.

Radi

RJ here I come

Countries where I get traffic from:
Jordan, United States, United Kingdom, France, Finland, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Spain and Monaco.

It makes sense, its the same countries I am most excited to go to WHEN I start working for Royal Jordanian. Oh, yes, the if changed to when, YES!!!!!

I passed, I officially have the green light from DLR (Duetsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt or the German Aerospace Center) to pursue a career as a pilot in Royal Jordanian.

They have a very difficult exam that is in most parts psychological but tests you in many areas. It is very selective, but as of Thursday 23rd of November 2006 I passed it, it was exactly 4:24 pm when I left the Interview with the good news. It was fun but very stressful and I at last proved to able to make it.

Radi

Aerobatics

Nice, I am getting closer to flying aerobatics, right here in Jordan. Jordanian are relatively oriented with the world of aerobatics thanks to the Royal Jordanian Falcons. Unfortunately they are part of the Royal Jordanian Air Force in a sense, and therefore they don’t offer “joy rides” to civillians that often. Even if the civilians are pilots.

More to come…

Radi

All the way left-wing

I am in the Left-Wing, regardless how you feel about God or how you think I feel about Islam. I still am a socialist, it’s not a religion and not a life-style.
I said that to more than a million people in the past week after I wrote: “Lefty or Righty Bush?”.

I talked about how Leftist teaching starts from the day you enter schools in the US and doesn’t quit. So how come we get all those rightists in the centre of the political arena? Where do they get their votes from? I guess it’s hard being secular in a country founded on freedom of relegion and when their ancestors fled to the other side of the Atlantic to run away from persecution and relegious nutshells.

I guess I like secularism now more than ever, Islam being so feared and all. I also like how France is modeled, their economic system and their moral standards. If I knew french I would have moved there, they have a large Arabic community if I care and the do have the Airbus company.

Peace, Out

Radi

Airplane accidents

Heard about the airplane accidents going on left and right? Scary? Not to me, see I believe in numbers. The odds on you dying in an airplane are too low, I think that statistic went something like: The odds of you dying in your car are two hundred times higher than in an aircraft.

Think about it, 96% of those in aircraft accidents actually survived, Who do you know that has had an aircraft accident? Odds are no one, but the media focuses on the fatal accident more than the surviving accidents. My deepest sincere condolences to anyone who lost anyone in an aircraft accident. But still, I won’t loose sleep over it. I would loose sleep over cab drivers though .

I wouldn’t say I’m not at all worried, but I still think it was all preventable, 85% of airplane accidents are avoidable, under superior maintenance, attentive piloting and proper adherence to procedures in general, none of the troubles of last week would have happened.

Peace, Out.

Radi