And now for something completely different!

And now for something completely different!:
Keeping a balance on one’s state of mind.
Don’t know about you but I find that it is all too easy to get wound up by so much that is going on in this crazy world.  That’s not to marginalise the threats to society that are all around us and there are some powerful writers out there who work so hard to inform the world as to the truth of those threats.  (As an aside, one of my favourite authors is this context is Patrice Ayme, just see this recent Post of his as an example of his depth of analysis.)
But my dear friend of over 40 years, Dan Gomez, recently sent me a link to a video of the 10 most extreme airports in the world.  That stirred some memories from my own flying days.
First settle back and enjoy 7 minutes of reasons why you don’t want to think about flying!

The YouTube video has this information, which I republish below,

Pictures and videos of the top 10 most extreme airports in the world!
San Diego: Busy airspace lots of buildings on approach

Madeira: Difficult approach and did have a short runway

Eagle Vail: High altitude, short runway & mountainous approach & departure

Courchevel: Short runway, bumpy runway, high altitude

Kai Tak: Difficult approch, fly through tall buildings, short runway

Gibraltar: Short runway, building on approach, winds from the Gibraltar rock

St Maarten: Short runway, has to fly over the beach with alot of people on there, steep takeoff because of mountains

St Barts: Short runway, has to dive.

St Barts: To land, the low approach on that hill thingy

Toncontin: Difficult approach, short runway

Lukla, short runway, only was cemented a few years ago, no go around, if land too low you land into a cliff
First song: La Perla by Kobojsarna
Second song: Feel It – Explicit Album Version by Three 6 Mafia vs Tiesto with Sean Kingston and Flo Rida

Now to a personal recollection.
I was a private pilot for many years, first learning to fly at the Suffolk Aero Club at Ipswich Airport in Suffolk, England.  My first lesson was on the 3rd March, 1984!
Some twenty years later, on the 13th August 2004 to be exact, I was checked out to land at Courchevel Airport in an aircraft type known as a TB20, a French-built aircraft.  Here’s the page from my log book with the necessary authorisation stamp affixed.

Cleared to land at Courchevel, LFLJ!

The following year, 19th July, 2005, I added my wonderful Piper Super Cub to that authorisation.  (See here for a part picture of the aircraft.)
So thanks to YouTube as someone has uploaded a film of a light aircraft operating into Courchevel.  It really is rather thrilling!

Finally, back to Dan.  Here’s his recollections included in the email that he sent with that first film.

Just found this.  I’ve landed at two of these.  Eagle Vail was a piece of cake compared to Toncontin as Marty and Bruce know. BAE146 and small Boeing jets.  I flew in and out of Toncontin 5 times in the 90′s and had no idea it was as scary as it was.  That is to say, I knew it was scary because my palms sweated and heartbeat was about 140 but when I look at it now I go “what was I thinking?”
Take offs were like Orange County, Full brake power straight up. The big difference was you were shuttling along the runway and then down the runway and finally, up the runway to get the wheels up.
One time, on a connecting flight from Medellin, we taxied in, were boarded by military police with drug dogs who sniffed their way through the aisle.  Bags were searched while everyone waited in intense heat. It took about 2 hours, three time longer than necessary. Then the interior was fumigated with everyone aboard. All the big machine guns too. Nobody said a word!

There’s one thing about flying a light aircraft, especially into ‘interesting’ airfields, you don’t have a moment to worry about the state of the world!