Time To Catch Up

Before disclosing the current locale, I should probably spend some time catching up over the last 12-15 months. Many interesting things happened in Yemen both good and bad and overall it was a rewarding experience. In the end due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up spending five months away from home. It was a sacrifice I will not let happen again.

Living and flying in Yemen was quite an adjustment. It is a country of very diverse geography, from hot and humid coastal zones to mountians in excess of 12,000 feet in height and the arid, sandy desert of the Wadi Hadramaut. All of the planes are/were based in Sana'a, the capital, which sits in an a very high valley (7,200' above sea level) surrounded by huge, jagged mountains.

Sana'a looks very much like Phoenix, my home town. With Sana's elevation, the temperatures there are more moderate than Phoenix. A typical summer day sees a high of about 32C (about 90F), but the weather patterns, vegetation and topography look very much like the Sonoran Desert. Prickly Pear, Cholla, Bouganvilla, Eucalyptus, Aloe Vera, Pyracanthia and a variety of other plants. There is the Monsoon like rainy season with afternoon thunderstorms that build over the mountains and roll in to the city in late afternoon. Those create some pretty white knuckle flying too.

The average American has one opinion when it comes to Yemen: terrorism. While there are undoubtedly extremists and terrorists in the country, the average person is kind, generous and willing to go out of their way to help you. Petty crime there is non existent and I was able to safely walk the streets of the city day or night. Here are a few photos of Sana'a:

This is a view of the Presidential Mosque as seen from an area called Hadda Street. It was built two years ago at a cost of $20,000,000

View looking south from Babel Yemen aka Old Sana'a

More to come about Yemen, it's people and flying experiences while there.

The End of an Extended Absence

Well, I think I've really dropped the ball on something I worked long and hard at. Aviation is a tough business and has not been kind to myself and scores of others these last few years.

I spent all of 2009 flying in Yemen. Although I had a lot of interesting experiences there (which I will start writing about), it was very tough being there. At one point, I was away from home for five months to the day. I left Yemen in November, 2009 and decided to take some time off from flying and just be home.

I turned down several flying opportunities while waiting for a recall at Comair. I just missed the last round and was pretty upset about it. I decided to start looking at other opportunities again.

In late July, I went to a sim evaluation in Toronto. I was rusty and hadn't touched a jet since November. A few weeks later, I received a job offer from another overseas airline. This time with better terms and conditions.

I'm there now and hope to be better about adding to the blog once again. I've put too much effort in it to just let it remain dormant. Time to go flying again.