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Old 26th Jan 2011, 12:06
  #1378 (permalink)  
Alice025
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
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I read interview with Yeltsin's pilot who he inherited from previous "tsars".
It appears, in his view, he saw it nothing strange that VIP-s are behaving "unreasonable", like, he viewed it part of his job description to be able to manage both the flight and them. He said he had a habit of flying "technical flights" the day before or two days before to the destination of VIP travel, to check if any up-dates in the lighting system in the airport and how he understans the controllers' English.
He checked even Heathrow :o)))))
Then, they flew in 3 planes team, and the front one he used to sacrifice :o), to do a trial approach as visibility he said is often better "than what the ground reports to be on the safe side".
He admitted he busted minima what appears not once when Yeltsin was "unreasonable". And didn't bust in other times. He said it depends on contingency planning, how sure he is evaluating chances, combining info from his own technical flight the day before and what the plane going immediately in front of him says re the actual visibility in go-around.

But here is a culture of expectation that VIP-s are likely to behave "unreasonable", they plan for the worst scenario. He carried USSR and Russian tsars for 25 years and said he negotiated his right to hand-pick his crews, it is not that he was "given" mixed crews every time.

How it is in democratic places don't know :o) but apparently all worked out their ways to cope. Poland should just make its choice and either upgrade their VIPs' :o) or upgrade their crews, because when it's a mixture one is un-prepared.
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