Back in the air...ALMOST!

On second thought, maybe I won't shut down this blog site. There may still be too much to share as the Lord continues to guide this sometimes rocky but amazing path of my life.

After being laid off from my Chief Pilot job in Cairo, Egypt in March, due to the fallout from the Egyptian Revolution, I was blessed (although it didn't feel like it at the time) to have over six months at home to gather my thoughts, spend time with my kids & my parents, catch up with friends & deal with the sad reality of the divorce I could not avoid.

Two thousand and eleven has been an interesting year to say the least, but I continually praise God when I look back at all the grace, mercy & guidance He has provided. I searched hard & long for jobs both in & out of aviation. Nothing outside of aviation turned up & it looked as if my only options in aviation would geographically take me away from my kids. Then the Lord clearly provided the right job at the right time. In early August I interviewed with Southern Air Inc. (headquartered in Norwalk, CT). By late August I was offered a First Officer position on the 747-200 (The Classic), flying freight for various contracts Southern Air holds all over the globe. Although I will still be gone for many days each month, Southern Air was a great fit as they offered a schedule & the ability for me to live anywhere in the continental US, allowing me to stay close to my kids. Southern Air also offers the adventure of worldwide & nearly unlimited travel as they haul nearly anything you can think of for many different freight companies, airlines & governments around the world. Southern Air originally made a name for themselves in the 60's by flying under the Air America name in Vietnam & Laos during & after the Vietnam Conflict...for more interesting facts, visit the company website at: http://www.southernair.com

The following pictures are just a few of the great times I was afforded with my great kids this summer during the longest stretch I've had away from work since junior high.

Fishing on Clear Bottom Lake near Rockford, MI.

Jasmine never fails to entertain with her many expressions!

Kayaking on Upper Herring Lake near Elberta, MI.

Biking over the Grand River in Ionia, MI.

Our class of 24, after completion of company initial training in Norwalk, CT (Oct. 7). From here we split into 2 groups with 13 of us heading to Miami, FL to start initial ground/flight training on The Classic & the rest of the group heading to Seattle for initial on the newer 747-400.

Most of our new hire class met at Bertucci's to celebrate completion of indoc & to say good bye before we split up for flight training.

Logging those long hours of aircraft systems training for The Classic, before they ever let us fly the simulator.

The old 747-200 sim. This thing probably has more hours on it than 20 retired airline pilots combined!

Five of us over achievers got offered a little sim time early in the course when we were found studying together in the classroom the second Sunday we were in Miami.

"Hey guys, change of direction here at Southern Air", was the announcement in class on the Wednesday afternoon before our Friday written exam on the 747 systems. Even though we had already spent over 2 weeks in training for the 747, the company now needed 8 of the 13 of us to begin 777 training ASAP (changes in the company's plan to park old 747-200's & replace with 747-400's & new 777's dictated this decision). Now we all had a quick on-the-spot decision to make for ourselves, as we were informed that we could either volunteer or they would have to assign us by seniority to fill the 8 necessary 777 training slots that Southern Air had available in November. I was fortunate (I think :) to be one of the 8 allowed to move to the 777. Although I would loose 2 weeks of progress on the 747-200, I felt very blessed to have the opportunity to receive a Captain's type rating on one of the largest, most advanced twin-engine jet airliners in the world, not to mention an aircraft that is still in production. I pray that the Lord continues to provide me the tools & talent to meet the task for which I have been chosen!

Here are a couple of the various paint schemes that Southern Air operates the 777's under.

...and in the end, if it doesn't work out, we learned another important life lesson in 747 training!

Just kidding! Joshua & Jasmine, if you're reading this, know that I love you both very much & that it is important to accept responsibility for your actions before man & God. Do the best you can with the talents He has blessed you both with & don't make excuses when you fail. Always learn from your own mistakes, or those of others first if you can.

The Final Chapter

This will likely be the final post on this blog, as this chapter of my life closes :( As you may have read in my previous post, our little flight operation in Cairo has been in jeopardy ever since the January 25 Egyptian Revolution.

On March 14 we were finally granted permission from the Egyptian Military Gov’t, to depart Cairo with our aircraft, under the premise that we fly without passengers to Paris for maintenance. The permission was granted that morning & was good only for March 14. By late afternoon we were on our way to Athens, Greece for fuel & a short over-night stay, before proceeding to Paris the next day.

The original plan was to wait in Paris for one night while the maintenance was completed & then take the plane back to Athens & leave it there for an undetermined amount of time, as Anas & myself were to ride the airlines back to Cairo.

However, we continued to receive signs that our operation was teetering on the edge of closure. On the way to the Cairo airport on the 14th we were informed that our airline tickets from Athens to Cairo had been canceled & we were now to leave the plane in Paris & airline back to Cairo from Paris.

When we arrived in Paris on March 15, one of the Cessna reps accidently mentioned to me that he heard we were returning our plane to Cessna in Wichita, KS the following week. This pretty much confirmed my building suspicion from the past 6+ weeks.

Upon arrival in Cairo on the evening of March 15 I received an email from Miriam (boss’ assistant) stating that the boss wanted to meet with me the next day. The next morning the news was delivered & I was asked to return the plane to Cessna in Wichita. The boss & I discussed the details & came to terms over ending our pilot contracts early. I was also given permission to take my son (Joshua) with us on the final flight over the North Atlantic.

Over the next week I worked feverishly with our finance department to close down our operation. There was also much to do personally in that week, to move the whole family out of Cairo much earlier that expected.

Please enjoy the final pics & captions below. Thanks for watching, commenting & praying over my adventure from the past 15 months!

Arriving in Paris on March 15th.

Joshua, riding Egypt Air from Cairo to Paris, March 22nd.

Departure day from Paris to Reykjavik, March 23rd.

Joshua enjoyed lots of snacks & movies in his private cabin, during his 11 hrs aloft, over 2 days.

Our one night in Iceland didn't afford us much time to see the sights, but Joshua did enjoy snow for the first time in over a year, as we climbed this hill overlooking the airport. Atop the hill was a restaurant & museum.

What have I been doing for the past 4 weeks?

Some of you may already know this & many may not, but it’s been over 4 weeks now since I’ve flown our plane. Shortly after Mubarak stepped down from the Egyptian Presidency, the Military Gov’t put a stop on all Egyptian Businessmen’s private flights. It sounds like they are possibly checking into all Egyptians with great wealth & looking for any possibility of dirty money. As you can imagine, this has put many on edge & many have chosen not to fly their corporate aircraft, regardless of the gov’t grounding, so as not to stand out.

Obviously, this has left many of us pilots waiting to see how much longer we will retain our jobs. Some guys have already lost theirs & others have heard that their planes are up for sale. Although my boss has not directly said anything, he has given a few hints that he is at best undecided over his commitment to continue operating a private jet in the near-term.

On that note, I remain focused on the fact that the good Lord clearly lead me to Egypt (for MANY opportunities of personal & spiritual growth, plus SO much more!) & I know that he will guide & care for me going forward. The big question hanging out there is where to next!

Anyway, I thought I’d post a load of pics to tell the graphic stories of some of the things that have kept me busy while grounded in Cairo during the past 4 plus weeks. Here they are, beginning with the most recent.

This past weekend the kids & I went on a retreat with a group from our church. It was a great time of relaxation, prayer & fun family activities for all.

Here's part of the group on the 2 hr tour bus ride, as we headed north out of Cairo.

It was an exceptionally clear night as we drove along the Nile (in the foreground), on the way out of Maadi...so clear, you could see the pyramids!

Within the skateboard park at the resort/camp, the kids found much joy in playing with this old car. (Joshua driving, Jasmine on the hood & friend Jonathan on the roof)

Joshua, in an act of defiance, stops Jonathan from driving away in the car without an engine.

A view of the grounds around the area, from atop the conference building.

Took another hiking excursion out to Wadi Degla with some friends:

There's NOTHING you can't transport via truck in Egypt. This time, it appears to be water buffalo :)

Also featured on the Ring Road this day: 2 guys in a car that wasn't road worthy. Yes, this thing WAS driving down the highway :)

Found a cave that went quite far back into the rock cliff of the valley. A few of us went in about 20 ft, but without the proper gear for this adventure, we decided to revisit another day.

Gabriel (John's son) checkin' out the dark cave!

Atop one of the cliffs overlooking the valley, from left to right: John, Alvero, Justin & myself.

Later that day, I took the kids to one of John's son's birthday party at Family Land:

Jasmine loves to ride this helicopter ride in circles!

Joshua & some of the boys in bumper/laser tag/something or other type cars :)

The kids always love to get wild in the plastic ball cage!

An afternoon at the Maadi Sports Club with the kids at the playground.

During my 4 days of excursions downtown, in order to facilitate the sale of the SUV I recently bought (and I used to think being stuck at the MI Secretary of State office for an hour was bad), we drove through what I would call the hardware district. This guy only sold hand tools out of the back of his truck. Likewise, if you want pipe joints, you go to the guy who sold only those and so on...

This guy had some key roll in approving the transfer of vehicle registration paperwork. Behind him I observed what seemed to be the filing system for stuff that was currently in process...they would take stacks of folders & drop them on the filthy ground in piles & then someone else would come along & rummage through the pile until they found what was needed. I didn't see a single computer in this government building, just lots of metal storage cabinets with boxes of vehicle registration paperwork stuffed inside. I have NO idea how they keep track of anything in this place :)

Shortly after the corporate jets were all grounded, we got together for one of our ACE (Aviator's Club of Expats) meetings at 2 of the guys' roof-top penthouse suites.

From left to right: Juan (Spain), John (US), Alvero (Spain), Justin (US), Doug (US), Alvero (US)

Tahrir Square, Cairo (2/13/11)

Today, we (myself & several other families from our church) spent much of the morning in Tahrir Square, viewing the aftermath of the protests (which are still continuing in much smaller numbers) & offering some help with the clean-up efforts, organized by the protestors themselves, via mostly volunteer labor. It was quite breathtaking to personally view Tahrir Square firsthand & watch some of the protesting that is still taking place.

I posted this pic (from Jan 29th) earlier on the blog, but wanted to offer it beside the one below (taken today). This is (was) the National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters building.

View looking to the east (away from the Nile), into the center of Tahrir Square.

At the junction of one of the side streets that join Tahrir Square. The active protests were going on just to the right or this pic.

Continued active protests are taking place. From watching the news tonight, I think this was a protest by the Egyptian National Security Forces, asking for better pay & recognition that they are still here & never left. If you've been following the past 18 days events in Egypt, you'll recall that the news reported that much of the violence & unrest took place because these guys were nowhere to be found after the night of Fri, Jan 28th, when things really began to escalate as a result of the first violent clashes between the Security Forces (police) & the people. The Security Force also wants it recognized that they have long been harsh with the people because that's what they were ordered to do.

These fellows were very friendly & guided us around for a while, as we all worked to pick-up trash & organize for removal.

Joshua & his friend Grace (from school & church), to his left. I snapped this shot, just before a soldier told me "no picture" :) He didn't seem to want Westerners taking pictures, but was quite alright to let Egyptians take shots. Some of the others in our group simply passed their cameras to Egyptian civilians to get the shot :)

This was a Kentucky Fried Chicken...see the slogan above the counter "Finger licking good"? Looks like it likely got looted for food, as did several other restaurants in the area :(