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turn blue – as a warning that the
respiratory system was taking
a hammering. This was indeed
the case – we both had blue nails
and maroon lips. At 18,000
ft I ventured to point out this
colourful phenomenon.
“Who ze hell cares about zat
ven ze whole vorld is full of colour?
he asked. We were f lying a pink
aircraft through a yellow sky.
We giggled and marvelled at the
splendour of it all. At 19,000 ft
we were behaving like revellers
returning from a rugby match.
Eventually a crack developed
in our new found friendship. I
decided that, with an outside
temperature of minus 20°C,
it was time to do battle with
the Janitrol heater. This is a
malevolent device which lurks in
the nose of the aircraft. It draws
fuel from the right main tank
and causes a young Guy Fawkes
scene which is meant to transmit
warmth and comfort to those in
the cabin. Smoke it often causes;
warmth sometimes. But there
are few pilots who could claim
to be comfortable with a petrol
fire in the nose. Piet is not one of
them. Knowing his distrust of the
machine, I contrived to distractBELOW: Do you really
want to be kept warm by
a temperamental machine
that burns avgas in the
nose of your aircraft?australianflying.com.auNovember – December 2017 AUSTRALIAN FLYINGA pilot’s logbook is far more that just a record of dates, times, places and flights; it is also a history of a pilot’s
flying career and a chronicle of the lessons learnt that makes them the aviator they are today. Jim Davis takes
a look back through his own logbooks, and records the incidents that have shaped his approach to flying.