…at least within my immediate circle of friends. After pitching this to them four years ago, Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine finally ran my article about a rather challenging trip with a Boeing Business Jet (a VIP 737) into a little place in the Himalayas called Paro.
From where I sat, it looked nuts: The crew would immediately have to bank right, pointing the nose at an imposing mountain, then honk it through a 270-degree climbing turn inside a box canyon to come out above the ridge and head back over the runway.
Would they make it in (or out)? More importantly, would I be able to keep my job? Read the whole thing and find out!
UPDATE: Almost lost in the noise of me blowing my own horn, this issue also has a couple of great features on subjects near and dear to my heart.
First up, a look at XCOR’s Lynx spaceplane, which ya’ll may recall is my personal favorite in the tourist-spaceflight sweepstakes.
Finally, a story on the numerous ways engineering nerds (a term of endearment, trust me) saved the day when spacecraft didn’t exactly work as expected.
The Chiles Files 