Mission 12 Continued

Once we were seated and handed the function agenda I knew we were in trouble, and this was an almost instantaneous realisation from the rest of our party including the organisers. So speakers were encouraged to keep it short, dancers were ushered out once they had danced over the allotted time and the ceremony was curtailed to a point where we were only one and a half hours behind schedule. On arriving at the second school Emasundwini, after a 45 minute bus ride I, realized that the 45 minutes I had given us as a safety margin had evaporated. My pilots were under pressure, a situation I was not too happy about.

Hats off to the organisers who realized that the new deadline was not negotiable and to our shame this ceremony which, while a lot more low key, felt like a genuine gesture from the heart of this relatively poor community who had made a wonderful effort to show their appreciation. So speeches and speakers were cut short, dancers ushered out after their fair share and lunch was rushed. A lightning tour of the kitchen was had and then on the bus and off to the airfield, a short cut was announced, and to our relief turned out to be just that. Having had tailwinds on route down we were anticipating headwinds going back, not a pleasant prospect as the entire return trip seemed up hill.

The flight was great, everything was working, headwinds were not as severe and although ground speeds were lower they were not as anticipated. Even ATC seemed somewhat relaxed, announcing the favourable rugby score when asked, and the sheer delight was audible by the comments and reactions from pilots listening in, in our sector. We arrived in time to finally see the sun drop out of sight. It was literally in our faces the entire way. A smooth touch down from both pilots with excited and invigorated passengers disembarking was a clear sign that all had enjoyed a unique experience, more so, no one was ill.

All in all a great trip was had, although a bit rushed we had all achieved our objectives, I have learned from the experience, not only from a logistical point but from an experiential point too. I am sure all were enriched in some way by their experience. Thank you and well done to our intrepid pilots Tony and Francessco, and to the participants and organisers at JP Morgan.

Mike Ehrman