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TWO British pilots have been braving missiles over Baghdad during the Christmas and new year holidays to fly in new banknotes in place of the old currency that carried the head of Saddam Hussein.

Brian Martin, 68, and Nev-ille Mack, 48, have made almost daily flights into the Iraqi capital from Dubai on board an ageing Boeing 707. Since a DHL cargo flight was hit by a missile two months ago, they are the only non-military crew - apart from the occasional Russian - to brave one of the world's most dangerous airspaces in such a large jet.

They have so far delivered more than 340 tons of new notes, using techniques not to be found in any standard pilot's manual. They fly over Baghdad's international airport at 16,000ft and then throttle back, gliding down in a series of tight spirals. The aim is to reduce emissions to a minimum to avoid the kind of heat-seeking missile that forced the DHL plane to crash-land.

After offloading their cargo, they turn around quickly and, with engines on full power, follow the same corkscrew climb out of the airport. "We just keep a good lookout," said Mack, relaxing by the pool of a Dubai hotel. "It's interesting flying - not exactly Virgin Atlantic."

For Mack, the work in the Middle East is a break from his more routine job of teaching airline pilots at the Oxford Air Training School. Martin, by contrast, is the oldest pilot operating in Bagh-dad, with more than 32,000 flying hours to his name.

Thanks to the flights into Iraq, the central bank has been able to incinerate old banknotes and bring in the new ones, which carry symbols of Iraq's civilisation. The old currency ceases to be legal tender this week.

Mack would not recommend his job to beginners. "If you're used to the long approaches to Gatwick, you wouldn't really know where to start here," he said. "We've knocked around a bit and seen some weird things."

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One can only hope that these crews are paid significantly extra Euors for operating in a known hazardous environment.

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Oops just read the only big jet... The Beech1900 doesn't quite
fall in that category

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