Autobiography

Many years later after retiring from flying, and
having bought Birmingham City Football Club,
we needed to get to games all over the country
and be back home the same day. Driving up
and down busy motorways, often with an
overnight stay, was exhausting. We were far
too busy, and suffered several poor
experiences. As a result we decided to hire a
plane to fly us to a game at Newcastle.
When we arrived at our local airport at Biggin
Hill, the captain of the plane, who looked no
more than fourteen years old, greeted us and
asked us to wait in a shed while the plane was
being refuelled. We became airborne in this
ancient twin-engine Aztec, with Ralph and I
sitting in the back – a position I instantly
regretted. We were horrified, despite being
experienced pilots. We bounced around and
didn’t see the ground from take-off to landing.
There was only the one pilot and he chainsmoked
the whole trip, much to Ralph’s
consternation. The experience was so
horrendous we gave serious thought to
returning by train. We didn’t, and the return
flight was no better.
As soon as we arrived home we both said in
unison ‘never again’ but we still needed to fly,
not only for football but also for business.
A businessman does not want to battle the
traffic to Heathrow, check in three hours before
a flight, waste time in lounges and then find
someone sitting next to him fiddling with his
shoe, wondering what he has in the heel. So
the very next day we ordered a King Air 200, a
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