A brush with royalty and current conditions in Jordan

Back in January of 1959 your old columnist was in trouble with the school authorities. For a long weekend I had flown a T-34 of the Academy Aero Club back to McCook for some family event. The weather turned sour and we left the airplane and my dad drove me back in a blizzard. We almost made it back in time but I was a few minutes late clocking back in.

I then met a board of corrections and was given several tours to walk. For a cadet of my era a tour meant marching back and forth across the quadrangle carrying my M-1 rifle in military style for 50 minutes with a ten-minute break. One hour one tour.

I had already marched something like three of my allotted 30 tours and the Academy had a visitor. I was out on the quadrangle walking when he flew over low to look the new Academy over. That night at the evening meal the guest was presented and it was King Hussein of Jordan. I was impressed that he was about the same age as we cadets. As was customary for high-ranking dignitaries King Hussein granted amnesty to all of us cadets serving punishment for infractions of cadet rules. Yeah I knew that I liked the guy.

Jordan, a small Arab country in the Middle East that is and was at the time, was a bright spot in good relations with the United States. Of course, King Hussein is now long gone and his successor down the line is no longer a good friend of ours.

So the current news is that three of our U.S. soldiers serving in Jordan, now a proxy of Iran, have been killed and another 25 or so have suffered injuries from a drone strike on their barracks. That goes along with the 126 other soldiers serving in that God-forsaken area who have also suffered injuries from missiles sponsored by Iran since the October 7th Arab war against Israel started.

A good leader would be curing Iran’s aggressiveness in short order by bombing things in Iran that their leadership holds dear. Such as their facilities that are enriching uranium to build atomic weapons. Their rocket manufacturing facilities and places where they manufacture other weapons of war. Then too we should be taking out their Revolutionary Guard leaders like we did with Qasem Soleimani back when Trump was President. Instead, we have Commander-in Chief President Biden whose response so far is to tell them “Don’t”. Vote wisely!

Good news. The report of boarding and arrivals on our airline serving McCook was just released and it appears that Denver Air Connections is serving us well. I inquired at our terminal and a gentleman from TSA says that they even came and departed on time during the crappy weather that we enjoyed last week. Denver Air Connections chooses their passenger-carrying pilots from freight pilots that they employ to fly throughout the mountainous western states contracting with UPS for package deliveries. They fly the same type of aircraft that they outfit better for passengers and in my opinion, freight pilots are the best of the best at flying in inclement weather. Their parent company is Key Lime, headquartered in Denver. I take my hat off to their management and skill.

Our airport is important to this thriving community. We also have the services of FedEx for overnight package delivery in addition to Bemidji Airlines serving UPS. Quite a few transient Corporate Aviation flights stop in for fuel and to give their passengers a break. One of our surgeons lives in Colorado but flies his personal to McCook to practice here. Doctors and nurses fly into our airport weekly to serve in the Specialists Clinic. Two turbine-powered aircraft are based here to serve our ag community. And, yes, general aviation stops by to refuel although at the moment we have no FAA-authorized mechanic to provide maintenance for locals or transients if needed. In addition, we also have a suite of hangars for rent and there is a waiting list for those coveted spaces.

To service our airline passengers TSA also has a group of employees providing their required inspections at our terminal. There are two certified flight instructors (Yes your columnist is one but not very active at the moment) who teach people to fly and achieve advanced ratings. Additionally, at least local business station their corporate aircraft here buy fuel and contract with local pilots for their services. All these people working at our airport live locally and their wages add to the local economy.

In a couple of weeks, our Airport Advisory panel in conjunction with the City Council will be making a decision about which airline will continue to serve McCook under contract with EAS Essential Air Service which is a government program to serve small airports such as ours. At the moment four airlines, including our current Denver Air Connections are competing for the privilege to continue our airline service. I pray that we choose the one who best meets our community’s needs.

That is how I saw it.

Dick Trail