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Authors: Colleen Houck
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every continent in the world.”
“Where did the name Flying Tiger come from?”
He shifted slightly in his seat. “You already know that my employer has a fondness for tigers, so it was that, coupled with the fact that a few of the original pilots had flown ‘tiger’ planes during WWII . You might remember that they were painted like tiger sharks to look fierce in battle.
“In the late ’80s, my employer decided to sell the company. But he kept one plane, this one, for personal use.”
“What is your employer’s name? Will I get to meet him?”
His eyes twinkled. “Most assuredly. He will introduce himself when you land in India. I am certain he would like to converse with you.” He shifted his gaze to the back of the plane for a moment and then back to me. Smiling with an encouraging expression, he added, “Are there any other questions?”
“So you’re kind of like his vice president?”
The Indian gentleman laughed. “Suffice it to say, he is a very wealthy man who trusts me completely to handle all of his business dealings.”
“Ah, so you’re the Mr. Smithers to his Mr. Burns.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “I’m afraid I don’t understand your reference.”
I blushed and waved a hand. “Never mind. They’re characters on
The Simpsons
. You’ve probably never seen the show.”
“I’m afraid I haven’t. Sorry, Miss Kelsey.”
Mr. Kadam seemed slightly uncomfortable or nervous when talking about his boss, but he enjoyed talking about planes, so I encouraged him to continue. I wiggled in my seat and shifted. Kicking off my shoes, I sat cross-legged in the chair and asked, “What kind of cargo did you transport?”
He visibly relaxed. “Over the years, the company transported quite a collection of interesting cargo. For example, we won the contract to convey Aquatic World’s famous killer whale, as well as the torch from the Statue of Liberty. Most of the time, though, the cargo was quite mundane. We transported things such as canned goods, textiles, and packages, quite a variety of things, really.”
“How on earth do you fit a whale into an airplane?”
“One flipper at a time, Miss Kelsey. One flipper at a time.”
Mr. Kadam’s face remained serious. I laughed hard. Wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, I clarified, “So you ran the company?”
“Yes, I spent a lot of time developing Flying Tiger Airlines. I very much enjoy aviation.” He gestured to the aircraft. “What we’re riding in here is called an MD-11, a McDonnell Douglas. It’s a long-range craft, which is necessary when traveling across the ocean. The body is spacious and comfortable, as you might have noticed. It has two engines mounted under the wings, and a third engine is located in the back at the base of the vertical stabilizer. Of course, the interior is built for comfort and relaxation, and we employ the pilot, ground crew, as well as other staff to ensure security.”
“Hmm, sounds . . . sturdy.”
He leaned forward a bit in his seat and spoke enthusiastically, “Though this plane is an older model, it still provides for a very swift journey.” He began numbering its features on his fingers, “It includes a stretched fuselage, a large wingspan, a refined airfoil on the wing and tail plane, and brand new engines.
“The flight deck features the most modern conveniences—electronic instrument panels, dual flight management, GPS , central fault display— and it also has automatic landing capability for bad-weather conditions. Of course, we also kept our original company name and logo on the side, which you identified when we boarded.”
He had become eagerly spirited during his technical ruminative. I’m sure it all meant
something
, but what exactly, I had no idea. The only thing I got out of it was that it was a pretty darn good plane and sounded like it had three engines.
He must have figured out that I had no clue what he was talking about because he looked at my perplexed face
“Where did the name Flying Tiger come from?”
He shifted slightly in his seat. “You already know that my employer has a fondness for tigers, so it was that, coupled with the fact that a few of the original pilots had flown ‘tiger’ planes during WWII . You might remember that they were painted like tiger sharks to look fierce in battle.
“In the late ’80s, my employer decided to sell the company. But he kept one plane, this one, for personal use.”
“What is your employer’s name? Will I get to meet him?”
His eyes twinkled. “Most assuredly. He will introduce himself when you land in India. I am certain he would like to converse with you.” He shifted his gaze to the back of the plane for a moment and then back to me. Smiling with an encouraging expression, he added, “Are there any other questions?”
“So you’re kind of like his vice president?”
The Indian gentleman laughed. “Suffice it to say, he is a very wealthy man who trusts me completely to handle all of his business dealings.”
“Ah, so you’re the Mr. Smithers to his Mr. Burns.”
He quirked an eyebrow at me. “I’m afraid I don’t understand your reference.”
I blushed and waved a hand. “Never mind. They’re characters on
The Simpsons
. You’ve probably never seen the show.”
“I’m afraid I haven’t. Sorry, Miss Kelsey.”
Mr. Kadam seemed slightly uncomfortable or nervous when talking about his boss, but he enjoyed talking about planes, so I encouraged him to continue. I wiggled in my seat and shifted. Kicking off my shoes, I sat cross-legged in the chair and asked, “What kind of cargo did you transport?”
He visibly relaxed. “Over the years, the company transported quite a collection of interesting cargo. For example, we won the contract to convey Aquatic World’s famous killer whale, as well as the torch from the Statue of Liberty. Most of the time, though, the cargo was quite mundane. We transported things such as canned goods, textiles, and packages, quite a variety of things, really.”
“How on earth do you fit a whale into an airplane?”
“One flipper at a time, Miss Kelsey. One flipper at a time.”
Mr. Kadam’s face remained serious. I laughed hard. Wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, I clarified, “So you ran the company?”
“Yes, I spent a lot of time developing Flying Tiger Airlines. I very much enjoy aviation.” He gestured to the aircraft. “What we’re riding in here is called an MD-11, a McDonnell Douglas. It’s a long-range craft, which is necessary when traveling across the ocean. The body is spacious and comfortable, as you might have noticed. It has two engines mounted under the wings, and a third engine is located in the back at the base of the vertical stabilizer. Of course, the interior is built for comfort and relaxation, and we employ the pilot, ground crew, as well as other staff to ensure security.”
“Hmm, sounds . . . sturdy.”
He leaned forward a bit in his seat and spoke enthusiastically, “Though this plane is an older model, it still provides for a very swift journey.” He began numbering its features on his fingers, “It includes a stretched fuselage, a large wingspan, a refined airfoil on the wing and tail plane, and brand new engines.
“The flight deck features the most modern conveniences—electronic instrument panels, dual flight management, GPS , central fault display— and it also has automatic landing capability for bad-weather conditions. Of course, we also kept our original company name and logo on the side, which you identified when we boarded.”
He had become eagerly spirited during his technical ruminative. I’m sure it all meant
something
, but what exactly, I had no idea. The only thing I got out of it was that it was a pretty darn good plane and sounded like it had three engines.
He must have figured out that I had no clue what he was talking about because he looked at my perplexed face
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