The Ultimate Flight....

I told a close friend this evening about this story of my best ever flight. 

It was a United 747 from Honolulu to San Francisco.  They announced that there would be fire trucks on the taxi out to takeoff, not to be alarmed, it would be a "water lei", two great arches of water from the fire hoses, that the plane would taxi through.  This was the Hawaiian tradition for an aircraft's last flight.  They were retiring this 747 from the fleet.  An honor, and a bit auspicious!  Yet it was a thrill.

Normal takeoff....big arc climb up over Waikiki, Diamond Head and on out over the deep blue Pacific heading Eastward.

Five hours later, we are on approach to SFO, Runway 24 Right.  The captain came on and humbly announced it was his honor also to share with us that this was his last flight and landing before a planned retirement.  We all then looked at each other....the air was now filled with anticipation....what a dramatic moment....what would a Captain of 34 years be able to do for his last landing...?

Wow!  Cross-winds at 24 knots....I could hear everything from the cockpit on United's great Channel 9 headphones....buffeting winds....crossed the outer marker...beep, beep, beep.....now on final approach .coming down..end of runway in sight...beep, beep....coming down....wind gusts....getting closer.....closer....closer....everyone was waiting for the mild bump.....coming down....more?  no more coming down....we were down....no bump....OMG....a cushion three point perfect landing......you could hear a pin drop.....taxi.....mild breaks applied....taxiway left......people just looked at each other....paused and there erupted a loud ovation of applause....it went on with cheers from the crew as well...

Leaving the plane, we expected to see this grand Captain greeting everyone, handshakes, and all....no, I caught a glimpse of him sitting down behind the wheel left seat, just staring forward.  If I could understand it, he was savoring his whole career in that moment....

I will never forget that landing, that taxi out at Honolulu, the class way the whole United team handled that sacred flight.  There was huge respect.  I was lucky to be on that one.....

A Blueflash moment for the Captain....we all witnessed it....there were sacred moments on that flight.  Time stood still for a few moments....it was like witnessing a moment of exquisite precision of a huge machine by one human with controls....we had an artful landing....

In the life of the plane, and this Captain, this was the best one....no accident....this pro decided his artform would show as much as he had to give....we witnessed that moment of that art in its highest form.

I do expect most flights to fill in the ordinary category, safe, fast, on time.  This was one for the ages...happy I could see it with my eyes!  Safe, fast, on time, perfect landing, career over, Blueflash on the record books, now onward to second career, Captain, but job well done!

You see, in one artful landing, this Captain focused his whole career, every landing, every touch of the instruments, every feel for a perfect landing that no one had ever experienced....how many times can we do something like that?  Put everything on the last act?  Put everything on the last canvas?  Put everything on this day, this moment?  It's hard.  This man did that.  I will always remember the image of the Captain sitting alone, in fact, not being there for handshakes, though everyone wanted that.  He stole this moment from time.  This was his to savor...his last moments in the cockpit, left seat...thousands of hours there, now over...his art...for everyone to see, his own to really enjoy.  He knew he will move on to a next career.  Life is just beginning for that...but while he can, every last second in that left seat.  Have you been there?  Where you wanted to just feel it again?  Where you knew you had to go, but did not want to go?

The artist puts down the last stroke of paint...to make the painting complete...her heart is full...one more of her works is given to the world...she takes a breath, thinks of what she is....who she lives for...

The writer is the pilot, the artist...he writes one last story...the book is complete...life goes on...

All three are standing together, somewhere in the world now, not together, but together, smelling the fresh, rich coffee brew....sun is coming up...it's morning again....