Why flying

The Douglas DC-3 appeared in 1935

The Dream of Flying

I have been fascinated by flying for as long as I can remember. When I was seventeen, I dreamed of attending the KLM Flight Academy and becoming a pilot. Unfortunately, flight training was far beyond what my family could afford, and so I never learned to fly myself. Aviation has changed enormously since the Wright brothers made their historic first powered flight in 1903. Modern air travel has become safe, efficient and routine — sometimes almost like taking a bus from point A to point B. Somewhere along the way, perhaps, a little of the romance of flying has disappeared beneath timetables, security procedures and everyday routine.

But for me, the fascination never disappeared.

Travelling around the world gave me the opportunity to fly in an extraordinary variety of aircraft: many different Boeing airliners, Russian Ilyushins, an Antonov An-124 cargo aircraft, an Antonov An-2 biplane, Cessnas, a de Havilland Twin Otter and even a Dakota DC-3 dating from 1949. And when I was not actually in the air, there was always Microsoft Flight Simulator to keep the dream alive.

One of my most memorable flights was the “Flight of Angels”, in a small Piper aircraft over the upper Zambezi and Victoria Falls. From the air, the Zambezi stretches towards the falls before suddenly disappearing into the enormous curtain of spray rising from the gorge below. Flying above it offered an unforgettable bird’s-eye view of the river, the cataracts and the dramatic landscape surrounding one of Africa’s great natural wonders.

Another remarkable experience was flying over the Nazca Lines in Peru. These mysterious ancient geoglyphs are impressive enough in photographs, but seeing them from a small aircraft — the perspective from which their immense scale really becomes apparent — was something else entirely.

And then, much later, I finally came a little closer to that childhood dream. When I was given the opportunity to fly in a microlight, I did not hesitate for a moment. Sitting there with almost nothing between me and the sky, I experienced something of the freedom and exhilaration I had imagined as a boy. It was thrilling, exciting — and even better than I had expected. Perhaps there is a nice twist to the story. I never became the pilot I once dreamed of becoming, but my eldest daughter Evelien made the skies part of her own life, travelling all over the world as a KLM cabin attendant.

So although I never learned to fly myself, flying has somehow remained part of my life.

Have a safe landing in life.