Jets Magazine Jets March 2012 Back Issue

I write these words having
recently returned to ‘Blighty’
from a trip to Southern
Asia. The long haul flight via
Singapore’s Changi airport gave
me ample opportunity to work
on this issue of Jets Monthly and
do some advanced planning
for what promises to be a very
exciting year. We have so many
important events to mark in 2012
and we start, in this issue, with a
plethora of aviation milestones
including the 25th anniversary
of the phenomenally successful
Airbus A320 and the 50th
anniversary of the Folland Gnat
entering service with CFS.
My flight to Changi also gave
me the opportunity to sample
the Airbus A380 for the first time
and I have to admit I was mightily
impressed. The aircraft, operated
by Singapore Airlines, was very
comfortable and must surely rank
as the quietest airliner I have
every travelled in.
Natural Wonder
But of course, like anyone who
flies or is interested in aviation, I
spent a lot of the time gazing out
of the window at the cloudscapes
and daydreaming. Cruising south
over Burma at about 36,000ft
with the sun setting to the west
we were treated to a spectacular
display of nature’s power and
beauty as a massive electrical
storm lit up the evening sky. I
was transfixed.
After we had landed at Changi
I had a few hours to kill before
my connecting flight and (as you’ll
see from this month’s editorial
photograph) I was fortunate to
be invited up onto the A380’s
flight deck as the crew finished
their post-landing checks. The
Captain gave me a fascinating
tour of the capacious cockpit that
was a revelation to somebody
such as myself who is more used
to ‘steam driven’ gauges than
fly-by-wire and glass screens. I’ll
admit I was like a wide-eyed child
as I took in the view and lapped
up all the information bandied
about by the enthusiastic crew.
Childlike
It was then, as I sat with a
childlike grin on my face that
it occurred to me. Just over a
decade ago somebody showing
enthusiasm would have been
invited up to the cockpit during
the flight itself.