Nearer to thy God?
Former Concorde salesman and all-round bon viveur Mike “eau” Savage recalls an inspirational moment experienced on board Concorde 202, G-BBDG (now undergoing restoration at Brooklands Museum in the UK), during a sales tour/route proving flight to Gander, Canada in the 1970s. The Archbishop of Cantebury was on board and enjoying his campari. Flying well above FL600, Savage enquired if His Grace was enjoying the ride, to which he replied: “Oh yes, I’ve never been this close to head office before!” |
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In the hot seat?
“Fanny-friendly airline seats”
(Probably funny only to non-Americans, but spotted in USA Today, 9 January) |
If the trousers fit…
Seagoing Uniforms, Marshville, North Carolina is being awarded a maximum $5,003,677 firm fixed-price contract for navy utility trousers.
(Apparently they will also be available in “sea grey” and “British racing green”.) |
Going the extra mile
Airlines.Ws, a directory of the world’s airlines, with airline news, polls and commentary, asked its visitors whether they had ever had sex with a partner while flying as passenger.
According to Airlines.Ws: “The poll results show a surprising 9% of 600 respondents claim to be members of the so-called Mile High Club. The Mile High Club refers to people who have had sex while flying at over 5,200ft – 1 mile up. The poll results have an error rate of +/-2%. Polling results showed little difference in response from men and women. Both sexes responded at around the 9% mark.
“It is remarkable that women claim to have had as many sexual encounters while flying as men. The results are not clear as to whether women have become as open about their own sexual activity as men, or if the results are tearing away at old biases that suggest men tend to brag more about their sexual activities.
“Psychologists say it isn’t difficult to understand why flying is such an aphrodisiac for both sexes. Everything from the physical vibration of the airplane to the raising of adrenaline from the sheer excitement of flying and the dangers involved contributes.”
Interestingly, Airlines.Ws adds that the first published accounts of Mile High Club activity was in 1916. The incident involved avionics pioneer and daredevil pilot Lawrence Sperry and a New York socialite, Mrs Waldo Polk, to whom Sperry was apparently giving flying lessons. The aircraft crashed, but “the pair were found naked by two duck hunters. Upon being rescued, Sperry claimed the crash ‘divested’ them of their clothing.”
This led to the following comment in the Budgie News office:
“Aaaaahhh, so THAT’s why he invented the autopilot!” |
Read Flight from 1956 or read Uncle Roger's web log.
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Source: Flight International
