IRIS GOES TO SOMALIA

Having spent the last couple of years flying to a rota, I was thoroughly enjoying the freedom and randomness of flying charters at Sunbird Aviation.

- Laura McDermid

Laura McDermid continues her stories about Iris McCallum in East Africa.

GRANTED, THE AEROPLANES weren’t as modern, in fact the old Piper Aztec 5Y-ARN was the most cantankerous of any aircraft I’d ever flown; however I embraced the differences, knowing that mixing things up would help shape me into a better pilot.

Thanks to the invaluable tips and advice from fellow colleagues, I had recently flown my first solo cross-country from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, to Uganda in ARN.

Due to the fact that ARN had a single 12-volt battery, starting him was always a challenge as often all the energy would be spent in starting the left engine.

I’d have to wait patiently for the battery to recharge before I was able to start the right engine, a process that would always have me on tenterhooks as I feared burning out the starter-motor.

Over the past month I’d worked out more or less how long to crank and how long to wait, and ARN and I had established a mutual understanding.

Captain Brian Nicholson was my supervisor and mentor, it was Brian who would divvy up the charters each week between the pilots.

‘Iris, how would you and ARN like to fly Patrick Walker to Somalia tomorrow?’

Patrick was the husband of my sister-in-law’s best friend and over the years I had met them at various family gatherings and had developed a great fondness for them both.

‘That sounds like fun, pencil me in.’

I pulled out my map of Somalia, smoothing out the crease lines with the palms of my hands. The country was situated on the Horn of Africa and had the longest coastline on Africa’s mainland. It was bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest and Kenya to the southwest.