Battling to buy a small plane?

[Guest Cralis]

My aunts brother, Duncan, is the chief pilot for a chap in Rhiyad named Al-Waleed bin Talal. He's been flying for him for the past 7 years (Previous experience was South African Air Force, South African Airways, British Airways.. then Saudi Airlines. Now, flying for some business chap. Quite a nice job to land, concidering Al-Waleed is currently the 20th most wealthy person on the planet (I think he was in position 6 or something when Duncan was employed by him).

 

He's been flying his 747 for quite a while. He had to take it to the US where it took a hell of a long time to get fitted out with all the gold plated taps and all that stuff.

 

He's got an A380 on order, outfitted for private use, and the aircraft is to be delivered in 2010. So poor Duncan has to take time in getting trained on the A380.

 

Man, some people have it tough... Here I am , with 3 hours of Tecnam behind me.. a looong way to go. :)

 

 

[Guest coaltrain]

Um...If Duncan is your Aunty's brother, doesn't that make him your Uncle?

 

Sounds like a tough job though....

 

 

[Guest Cralis]

Nope. Actually, is she even my aunt? I've always thought of her that way, as she's married to my uncle. So... mmm.. You have messed up my family tree, man! hehe.. She's not my aunt. How strange! After all these years... She's nothing to me!

 

hehe..

 

Never the less, he still takes me flying when he can. :) I won't mention how we have a family tree breakdown. :)

 

 

[Tomo]

When Duncan get's the A380 endorsement, you'll have to ask him to slip over to Brisy, and you can invite all the forum out for a day trip in it...:thumb_up::thumb_up:

 

Wouldn't that be cool:clap:

 

I wonder what the hourly hire rate would be on one of those things...

 

Looks like you may have to call a tree surgeon in to fix up your broken branches

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Just to clear this up:

 

Your aunty is your mum's sister.

 

Your aunty is your dad's sister.

 

Your uncle is your mum's brother.

 

Your uncle is your dad's sister.

 

Your aunty's brother is not your uncle unless perhaps you live in Tasmania

 

 

[Matt]

Just to clear this up:Your uncle is your dad's sister.

Some very strange family goings on here

 

 

[Guest Cralis]

While I lived in South Africa, he brought an Airbus down .. can't remember the model. But he was brought up in Durban and did a lot of flying at a small airport there and has loads of mates there. The week he was there with Al-Waleeds airbus, the club was having some fly in, or something, and they had a small airshow. He brought the Airbus around for a flyby. I have the video at home - will upload it somehow.

 

He also brought the 747 to Johannesburg for some maintenance work or something. Just him, another pilot and his family. The cargo hold held his Harley - and that's it!

 

I was unfortunatly living in Scotland for that visit, but he took my mom for a tour of the aircraft. I've got the photo of them walking on the wing while it was parked at Jan Smuts (Pre ANC name)/Johannesburg International (Post ANC winning the elections name)/O.R Thambo (New name since Oliver Thambo died) what ever it's now called.. :)

 

It would be pretty cool if he brought it to Australia, but I think he needs a valid reason... 'Joy Rides'... mmm... I guess he can try. :)

 

Before he joined this chap, and while he was flying in South Africa, he's call me on evenings and ask if I wanted to go for a flight. He did freelance work flying helicopters. The two most memorable flights I went on was once he had to take a South African Police helicopter from a small airport near Johannesburg called 'Rand', to 'Waterkloof' (Prenounced Var-ter-clooof) airforce base, where they did the maintanence, and then bring a recently repaired one back. It was an a BO-105. What a machine! On the way up, I asked if this was a powerful heli.. wondering why the S.A.P used it as their primary heli. He said he'd show me, but if I felt queezy, then just say. Before I had a chance to answer, the bugger pulled made the heli fly forward at some rapid speed, then pulled up into a vertical climb... All blood into my feet!

 

As it lose airspeed, he did a nice stall turn, and all I saw in front of me was ground... Wnt down and pulled out of the dive.. again, shunting all my blood into my feet.

 

Twas an amazing trip.

 

The other time was a call to join him on a flight from Johannesburg down to a small town called Reitz. About an hour and and a bit flight time. We had to go collect another pilot who was stranded down there. We flew low along farm lands and.. ah, it was amazing! We got to the site to collect the lady, and she asked Duncan if he could take the person that dropped her there for a quick flight around Reitz. So they climbed in the back (Bell Jet Ranger 206 - it was used as a rescue helicopter) and off we went... and did some low flying along a closed golf course. Low, as in tree level stuff... Unbelievable stuff...

 

We then flew back, and I felt sick. :yuk:

 

But.. what a job to have. People paying you, to fly! It just doesn't comprehend for me. Best job in the world - surely!

 

 

[Guest Cralis]

Some very strange family goings on here

hehe.. Seems I'm not the only confused one. :)

When you've been briought up refereing to someone as an uncle, you just accept it. Then, when someone points out the error - it's a strange feeling...

 

 

[Admin]

I can remember a great song and wish I could get a copy of it now but it went like:

 

Your Daddy aint your Daddy but ya mumma don't know

 

Whoa, is me, shame and scandal in the family

 

 

[Chird65]

Ian you would love :

 

I'm My Own Grandpa - Video

 

 

[Guest beachbob]

That's what I call a swell job!

 

Your friend (I don't want to get the relationship stuff started again although I laughed out loud reading it) certainly must have one of the most pretigious flying jobs in the world. I noted his background and was wondering--if you know--is that the kind of job you actually apply for or do they simply look at the vitas of pilots flying for Saudia and pick the best of what must be a pretty outstanding group to begin with and that pilot gets the offer?

 

 

[Guest Cralis]

Bob, I've been wondering myself. I know Duncan has an above average flying career resume, but how he landed this particular job, I have no idea. I'll try find out though. I'm think it's a mixture of luck (right place at the right time) and hard work to get a pretty impressive log book. But I will find out.

 

I know his family (Wife, and a son of around 12 and a daughter around 15) have been moving about quite a bit, and are now in some American school in a compond for westerners in Riyadh. Infact, it wasn't long before they (the kids) grew yank accents! Not their fault though. :) So they have made sacrifises, but it's all paying off. She's back and forth between South Africa and Riyadh pretty often to visit family and friends (Not on the mans plane though..).

 

 

[Tomo]

I'd have to agree.... that would be an awesome job...:thumb_up::thumb_up:

 

 

[Guest brentc]

Some very strange family goings on here

I noticed it when I posted but thought I'd see if anyone realised. This would all be acceptable in some states, particularly here and in the United States.

 

 

[Guest palexxxx]

I can remember a great song and wish I could get a copy of it now but it went like:Your Daddy aint your Daddy but ya mumma don't know

Whoa, is me, shame and scandal in the family

That would be Shame and Scandal in the Family - Johnny Chester.

 

 

[BLA82]

Ian you would love :I'm My Own Grandpa - Video

That vid is priceless, you can just imagine it being played as background music at a Tasmania Tourisim Convention LOL

 

 

[Admin]

Classic!

[Guest Cralis]

Just got a mail back from Duncan.

 

Seems things have changed.

 

"I just finished with him after 8 years - too much pressure & no time for one's life. He's due to get the big Airbus A380 in mid-2010 but is rather desperate to get rid of it before then because it'll cost him another $ 200 million to put the cool interior in. And times are hard; even for rich guys."

 

 

[Guest disperse]

I can remember a great song and wish I could get a copy of it now but it went like:Your Daddy aint your Daddy but ya mumma don't know

Whoa, is me, shame and scandal in the family

Me thinks : Your daddy aint your daddy but your daddy don't know

 

Naughty mummy

 

 

[Guest Rocko]

Well, he might sell the A380 cheap, but it'd be a sod to land on a 400m strip:yin_yan:

 

 

[Guest Rocko]

Thinking about it, it would probably be a sod to PARK on a 400M strip ;)