CityPages Kuwait June 2016 Issue June 2016 | Page 72

Please introduce yourself to our
readers:
I’m Jacqui Ainger, a British housewife
married to Carl with two daughters, Georgia
and Sydnii. I also manage a portfolio of
properties.
How long have you lived in Kuwait?
I’ve lived in Kuwait for 7 years, although I’ve
spent almost 18 years in the Middle East with
stints in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
What first attracted you to the idea of
flying?
I was always amazed at how a big piece of
metal could fly through the air and this whet
my appetite to find out more.
For my 40th birthday my husband bought me
as a surprise, a Private Pilot’s training course
at a flight school near our home in Davenport,
Florida. Whilst I was scared of flying I was
excited at the prospect of becoming a pilot,
facing my fear and doing it anyway.
Talk us through the journey from your
first lesson to receiving your licence?
As I mentioned, I was 40 when I started. This
meant I was one of the more mature students
at the school. This spurred me on all the
more to succeed and demonstrate that you
are never too old!
The course itself was over 3 months, which
also meant a nice long holiday (if you can call
the stress of learning to fly a holiday).
The first lesson was a fairly gentle
introduction, becoming familiar with the
controls and circling the airport. That lesson

did, however, end with the first of many a
stressful situation - how to land. This, as
advised by my instructor, was to point the
nose of the plane in an acute angle towards
the ground, which in itself was terrifying!
The next major milestone was the first solo
flight with no safety net of an instructor sat
beside you. This was achieved after 20 hours
flying time (not too shabby, if I say so myself!)
This involves practicing all the techniques
received under instruction. One of the key
challenges was stalling the engine of the
plane mid-flight – not something you want to
do, but very necessary to learn how to recover
from.
The stress didn’t end there. Next item on
the checklist was the 150 mile cross-country
flight. This does however, come with what
I can now look back on as one of the major
highlights of obtaining my pilot’s licence.
The cross-country involves mapping out a
route which includes landing at 3 remote
airports before navigating back to home base.
Hours of preparation were spent ensuring
that I would successfully complete this task.
Given that GPS was strictly prohibited,
detailed maps had to be followed, along
with compass readings and identification of
location through visual sightings, looking for
significant landmarks only.
The first stop went well so the confidence
levels were high. The next stop was Ocala. As
I approached what I thought was the airport,
I requested permission from air traffic control
to land on runway 18. They stated please land
on runway 27. To my shock, as per my charts,
Ocala did not have a runway 27. After circling
the small airport for 5 minutes, I realized
that I was circling a private landing strip
with my intended destination a few miles

further ahead. Upon landing in Ocala, very
sheepishly, I learnt that I was circling John
Travolta’s private landing strip connected to
his home! I now wish I had stopped as many
of the pilots at the airport stated that he is
such a lovely guy!
Having survived the above incidents, not to
mention many others, I was finally ready for
the final exam, referred to as ‘check-ride’. I
passed first time, much to the amazement of
many of the younger students!
I received my licence after 70 hours flying
time and have accumulated approximately
150 hours.
Was your family supportive of your
goal?
Yes, very supportive. We had to take our
housemaid with us to look after the children

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JUNE, 2016