This book is filled with flying adventures and also events on the ground that happened, as the Chinese say, in 'interesting times'. It chronicles Johnny Sadiq's career from his initial training to his promotion to piloting jet aircraft. This was no ordinary career -- Sadiq's baptism to airline flying was on the Northern Mountains of Pakistan, among the most dangerous routes in the world. These flights were flown on the venerable DC-3, Dakota aeroplane, and the Fokker F-27. Subsequently, after flying the Super-Constellation as co-pilot for nearly a year Sadiq qualified for command on the DC-3 and later the F-27. Sadiq flew as an airline pilot for thirty-seven years and finished his career as senior instructor and check pilot on the mighty Boeing 747. This book covers the early years when he flew propeller driven aircraft.
Captain Jan Sayed Mohammed Sadiq, usually referred to by his nickname Johnny, is a very 'international' person. Born in England in 1938, his father was an Indian doctor who later became a Pakistani, and his English mother was of Irish descent. Johnny spent his formative years in England and wanted to become a pilot from an early age. The road to achieving this was far from easy. He was not selected for the Royal Air Force in 1957 mainly because of cutbacks in pilot strength at that time, but he was among the twenty possible candidates who survived the tests out of one hundred and fifty with only one being taken. He went to Pakistan to join the Pakistan Air Force but changed goals to become one of the country's leading airline pilots. In his career which spanned thirty-seven years, he had many unusual and exciting adventures. His travels to some of the world's greatest cities gained him friends in many countries. He retired in November 1998 and now lives in a seaside apartment in Karachi with his Japanese wife Etsuko. He spends his time doing honorary part time work with the Pakistan Airline Pilots' Association, sailing and racing at the Karachi Yacht Club, and writing his memoirs.