---------------------------------------------------------- Commander-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Mon 04/02/12: 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 09:47 PM - Battlestar Gallactica (cybersuperstore) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 09:47:50 PM PST US From: "cybersuperstore" Subject: Commander-List: Battlestar Gallactica Many years ago I was flying regularly between Johannesburg in South Africa and the bush near the border with Botswana. There are no lights for hundreds of kilometers. Taking off at night with pitch dark sky, scarcely able to see one's hand, required a walk down the dirt road on which we would take off, position a flashlight so that its light can be seen from the aircraft, and take off towards it rotating before passing it. (I always wondered what someone walking in the dark in the bush would make of a flashlight alone in the wilderness. Never got my curiosity satisfied). Every night-takeoff cost a flashlight but that was cheap considering the value of that guiding light. However, one night I had a passenger who swore that he'd never be disoriented in a plane when all references to the ground have been removed. He insisted taking the stick after takeoff but I refused knowing what was about to happen. As soon as we cleared some mountains to the East and gained sufficient altitude, I said he could take the stick. Every couple of seconds I would grab the stick and right the plane, causing him to become irritated that I would interfere with his flying. So, I decided to let him be. We were about to roll over when a huge array of lights appeared above us. It was larger than Battlestar Galactica with lighted tentacles spanning the sky. He yelled, "look at that Boeing". Boeing was his metaphor for a very, very large unidentified flying object. I took the stick, righted the plane and when the Galactica was below us, I said nonchalantly, "It's a city, you idiot." That night Chris Kunneke came to realize flying a plane on instruments is not a skill with which one is born. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message commander-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Commander-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/commander-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/commander-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.