The flying fantasy

As children we used to gaze at the clouds and try to give some shape to what we saw. It was fun and you can allow your imagination to run wild. My Dad was good at picking up shapes: “Do you see a man smoking a pipe sitting on a cliff”
Well, today you can see the clouds from above, thanks to the Wright brothers.


Whenever we flew from Bombay to Cochin we used to take the early morning flight and it’s a wonderful sight to see the sunrise from high above. ( window seat is a must for me )
The diamond ring effect (usually seen in an eclipse) was seen here with the sun behind the wing of the plane.

That is another thing that always fascinated me. The wings of the plane and the flaps. We take it for granted that the pilot is doing a good job and the take off and the landing went smooth. But if you look closely you can see the ends of the flaps going up or down depending upon the take off or landing. And they are in turn controlled by numerous hydraulic shafts and cables. Those flaps are real huge when seen up close. Going into technical jargon would be, out board flaps, Inboard Aileron, Slats, Spoilers etc.

The birds too must be using the same technique to navigate.
Once while landing at Cochin there was a thick layer of cloud very low and the pilot had made three sorties trying to land. Every time at the last minute he (the pilot) used to pull up and take off again. It was scary. But most of the passengers were not aware of what was happening (including my wife) It was only before the third try he announced “there is a slight problem in landing and if we can’t make it we will be landing at Chennai”
But thankfully he made it at the third attempt.

One of the Airlines that has really impressed me in India is Kingfisher. The rates may be a little steep when compared to others but its worth the money. There is no room for complaint. And to top it I won a Zodiac Shirt by just filling in those forms they keep in the magazine pouch behind the seat. So next time when you fly don’t miss that opportunity, who knows when lady luck will smile at you.



Cochin airport is one of the cleanest one I have seen in India. It is a rare sight to see all the seats vacant at any airport, at the waiting lounge. I had to click it.

The sunlight coming in from the airplane window can make a good silhouette. I looked up this word and came up with this:
A silhouette is a view of some object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior. The word is an eponym named after Etienne de Silhouette, a finance minister of Louis XV who in 1759 imposed such harsh economic demands upon the French people that his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply.


I pity those who just sit tight and wait for the plane to land, and grab their bag and make a dash for their next meeting.
The things they miss while flying .. . . . . .. . . .