Remembrance day

As a semi experienced and young Private pilot I've realized I was born at the right time in aviation.

This only expands my respect for those who came before to allow me the freedom to do flight training, and especially those of fighter and bomber command who never returned home.

Had I started my training in 1939 opposed to 2009; If I was extremely lucky I would be flying a Hurricane or Spitfire facing an almost insurmountable horde of German fighters and bombers in the battle of Britain attempting to defend England. As a fighter pilot or perhaps Mosquito pilot I have the luxury of possibly being able to maybe fly my way out of trouble, Most likely I would be flying a Bristol Blenheim, an Armstrong-Whitworth-Whitley or Halifax. If I was slightly lucky and slow in my training maybe an Avro Lancaster as pilot or co-pilot with a dozen scared to death crew trusting me to take them home safe as the fighters cut us to ribbons. All this with a scared young crew trusting their lives to me to deliver them safely as I unfortunately regularly let members of my crew down.

Its entirely likely that myself or many members of my crew would never have seen even 1944. As a bomber pilot I may have lost dozens of crew members in the same aircraft. I'm fortunate I don’t live with that burden in my career and I wonder at those pilots and crews who have been able to cope with that.

The privilege of flight has been granted to me thanks to; the hard work and sacrifice of the pilots of the RCAF mainly in WW2 and the legacy of the British Commonweath Air Training Plan.

If any veteran wishes to have a flight the only questions I have are when, where, and how soon; they have made the sacrifice to allow me to be a pilot and owner that is the least I could ever do in return.

Brent