FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2018 63 It may have looked colourful, but this plane was over 45 years old and should have been put out to pasture. I have had the privilege of travel- ling all over the world, and for the past dozen years have been asked to share my experiences with many groups, or- ganizations and various events. Along with specific questions about locales or experiences, I am always guaranteed to be asked about the actual travel, specifi- cally flying and dealing with airports. I have written many articles about my adventures, and sometimes misad- ventures, in various places, I thought perhaps it would be interesting to pen some of my air travel adventures. I dug up some old records and calendars and discovered during my busiest year, 2007, I had boarded a total of 108 airlin- ers. I have logged well over a thousand flights, and recently I started reminiscing about some of the air travel experiences. I consider myself quite fortunate to have come this far unscathed. To say I am fa- miliar with flying would be an understate- ment, but that certainly does not mean I like it. I think one of my best airplane ex- periences was a number of years ago, flying from Moncton to Toronto on a 737, one of my favourite aircraft. It was the dead of winter and the snow was falling fast while the wind howled. We had just de-iced and were making our way to the active runway. The plane barreled along; about to lift off when the engines made a strange noise and the take-off was aborted. A moment later an announcement explained there was an issue with a gauge, which had to be resolved before we could take off. I certainly have no problem with repairing anything before we fly, no matter how long it takes, but many people around me failed to share my views and became agitated. The plane pulled back to the gate and maintenance did their thing. Unfortu- nately there is a rule on the books, which states the door has to be open while the plane is parked. A long, icy cold, thirty minutes passed before were ready to roll, and I was shivering from the cold when I realized we had to be de-iced again. The announcement was that we were 7th in line and while we waited, now nearly two hours behind schedule, a screeching siren suddenly wailed throughout the fuselage. Everyone looked around and a flight attendant ran from the back to the front. From my vantage point I could see her banging on the bathroom door, without response. She poked at the lock and the door opened, and I howled when I saw an elderly gentleman sitting, his trousers around his ankles, casually puffing on a cigarette as if nothing was amiss. Another hour went by while I watched theRCMPboardtheplaneandescortthe man to the nether regions of Moncton’s Police Station. Finally we managed to take off. One concluding announcement explained that the airport in Toronto was closed due to weather so we had to fly to Ottawa, which we did, where we sat for another two hours before taking off. My two-hour flight landed at three in the morning, only seven hours late. I mentioned I like 737s mainly be- cause I became familiar with their quirky noises and strange habits, like slowing down over Brampton because of noise restrictions. This happens just after take- off, depending which runway is used and it gives the impression that the plane is losing power. My favourite ritual, at that time is to look around, find someone with fear in their eyes, and pretend to share their sentiment, secretly giggling to myself. I remember flying from Edmonton to Toronto, sitting next to a priest, when a loud, ear-piercing bang rocked the plane. The pilot announced that we had lost an engine. People were looking at each other and I stared out the window, some- what relieved to see both engines were ...................... Please turn to page 64 JONATHAN VAN BILSEN JONATHAN VAN BILSEN