Airliner World — September 2017

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only for its great expense but also for
being extremely competitive?
While there’s no immediately
obvious link, the sense of smell holds
the key to my decision. I have many
early memories of family holidays
abroad, all of which I hold dear, but
arguably the most evocative of these
was the smell of jet fuel that invariably
accompanied the walk across the
airport apron to the waiting aircraft.
To this day, I (and many others) still
find this the most intoxicating aroma.
It was the first hint of this smell that
marked the beginning of each new
adventure to foreign lands. I knew
then that the best bits were to come;
the first whiff of fuel, the sight of a tail

fin, the haunting whine and splendid

roar of a turbine engine. And then the

sight of an aircraft. Through the eyes

of a child this was a vision of almost

ethereal quality, this vast mass of pol-

ished metal, every line and curve pur-

poseful and majestic. This was sim-

ply the best part of any family holiday,

and marked the start of an affair that,

unbeknown to me at the time, would

bring me to this juncture in life.

A Rocky Road

So, what became of this love of all

things aviation? Like many of my

fellow enthusiasts already established in

non-aviation careers, the desire to

be a pilot was simply filed under ‘impos-

sible’. It seemed to me the life of an

airline pilot was the realm of the elite; I

assumed the credentials were exclusive-

ly those of ex-RAF pilots or individuals

with swathes of qualifications in physics

and mathematics. Surely it was never

to be the career of choice for someone

with an A-Level in sculpture and a

limited understanding of algebra.

But, like many before me and

undoubtedly more to come, it was an

aviation icon that rekindled my

forgotten dream – the Boeing 747.

I was fortunate enough to spend some

time chatting with the flight crew of a

British Airways example on a holiday

to the Middle East and asked as many

questions as time would allow. Most

L3 Airline Academy

trains its cadets on a

mixture of Diamond

DA20 Katanas, DA40s

and DA42 Twin Stars, all

of which are equipped

with the Garmin G1000

glass cockpit.

ALL PHOTOS

DAAN VAN DER HEIJDEN

VIA AUTHOR

BELOW LEFT • Having

initially dismissed a

career in aviation, a

conversation with a

British Airways Boeing

747 crew convinced the

author it was in fact an

attainable goal.

BELOW • The ground

phase of the course was

fast paced and highly

pressurised.