Spacepod Life

Well, at least in China people say "sorry sorry" and throw the sigarette away. Here in Jordan they just say "no problem" pointing to the sign and just keep puffing!

Beh, almeno in Cina la gente si scusava e spengeva la sigaretta. I Giordania ti dicono tutti "no problem" indicando il segnale e continuano a farsi dei bei tiri proprio accanto a te!

At the airport in Aqaba I met a funny yung guy, Suhail,  which is working in some sort of "public awareness of the NO SMOKING signs" program. I think that the greatest challenge in Jordan is to remind people that the sign is for everybody, security enforcement officers included.

All'aeroporto di Aqaba ho incontrato un simpatico ragazzo, Suhail, il cui lavoro e' quello di diffondere la cultura del cartello NO SMOKING in Giordania. Penso che il lavoro piu' difficile sia convincere la gente che il cartello vale per tutti, poliziotti e personale di sicurezza compresi.

Note the "no smoking" sign

Notare il segnale "no smoking"

Hopefully you won't have an emergency around 11:30am on Friday at Amman airport... all the staff is praying.

Spero che non abbiate mai un'emergenza di venerdi mattina all'aeroporto di Amman intorno alle 11:30... tutto il personale e' in preghiera.

Hello, anybody there? Hello...

Salve, c'e' nessuno? Heila'...

A goodbye to the South African crews that operate the two Fokker 28's "fellowship" leased by Royal Jordanian on the lousiest routes (mostly Iraq and... Aqaba!)

Un saluto agli equipaggi sudafricani che operano i due Fokker 28 "fellowship" noleggiati dalla Royal Jordanian per le rotte piu' pidocchiose (piu' che altro Iraq e... Aqaba appunto!)

A little bit of color and a taste of India on the Apron at Bahrain Int'l Airport.

Un po' di colore e di sapore indiano sul piazzale dell'aeroporto internazionale di Bahrain

A Gulf Air Boeing 767 parked on the apron is ready for boarding and loading operations.

Un Boeing 767 della Gulf Air e' pronto per le operazioni di carico e imbarco.

A very dirty interior on a Gulf Air economy class seat.

Un paio di posti un po' sporchi in classe economy sulla Gulf Air.

Taking off from Bahrain, with the city skyline in a misty afternoon.

In decollo da Bahrain, con la citta' immersa in una foschia pomeridiana.

Dopo nove lunghi e polverosi mesi, si chiude anche il capitolo Giordania. Un saluto a tutti i piloti che ho addestrato con l'augurio che abbiano imparato qualcosa di utile.

After nine long and dusty months, the Jordan adventure if finally over. Good bye to all the pilots I have trained in these months, with the hope that they have learned something valuable from me.

For the first time after several month I'll be able to plan my life more than 12 hours ahead. No more anxiety and no more wondering in the late evening what is my schedule like for the following morning!

Per la prima volta dopo mesi saro' in grado di pianificare la mia vita con piu' di 12 ore di anticipo, cosi non devo piu' cercare di indovinare quale e' il mio turno per il mattino seguente!

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
  Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
  The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,
  In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.

  The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
  With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
  I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
  And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.

  When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
  I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
  A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
  Called for clearance to land at the airport below.

  He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
  I’d have sworn that the call sign he used was “St. Nick“.
  I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
  The better to welcome this magical flight.

  He called his position, no room for denial,
  “St. Nicholas One, turning left onto final.”
  And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
  But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!

  With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
  As he passed the fixes, he called them by name:
  “Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
  On Comet! On Cupid!” What pills was he taking?

  While controllers were sitting and scratching their heads,
  They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
  The message they left was both urgent and dour:
  “When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower.”

  He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
  Then I heard “Left at Charlie,” and “Taxi to parking.”
  He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
  And stopped on the ramp with a “Ho, ho-ho-ho…”

  He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
  I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
  His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
  And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.

  His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
  And he puffed on a pipe (but he didn’t inhale).
  His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
  His boots were as black as a crop duster’s belly.

  He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
  And he asked me to “fill it, with hundred low-lead.”
  He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
  I knew he was anxious for draining the sump.

  I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
  And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
  He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
  Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.

  And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
  These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
  He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
  Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, “Clear!”

  And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
  He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
  “Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
  Turn right three-two-zero at pilot’s discretion”

  He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
  “Your traffic’s a Grumman, inbound from the west.”
  Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,
  “Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight.”

Why do mountaineers climb mountains to find answers to their questions?

Perche' gli scalatori si arrampicano sulle montagne per trovare risposte alle loro domande?

If this looks like a desk with four chairs and a coffe table to you, you couldn't be more wrong...
These are actually four workstations with a central meeting table!

Almost 40 hours of flight time in the last week and mostly at night. I feel like a cargo pilot. I wanna see if the promised bonus is really coming at the end...

Quasi 40 ore di volo nell'ultima settimana e per lo piu' di notte. Mi sento come un pilota di cargo. Voglio vedere se il famoso bonus arrivera' veramente alla fine...

On final at Sharm.

In finale a Sharm

Most of the airliners parked in Sharm El Sheik are from Italy, even in this season...

La maggior parte degli aerei parcheggiati a Sharm sono italiani, anche di questa stagione...

Runway is in sight and we are preparing to turn to final.

Ecco la pista, ci prepariamo all'avvicinamento finale

Descending into Sharm El sheik.

In avvicinamento a Sharm El Sheik.