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The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airline.
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 10:22 am
by SHM
http://news.sky.com/story/amp/dutch-kin ... m-10881947The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airline.
For 21 years, King Willem-Alexander has taken to the skies twice a month to ferry passengers around on short-haul services for the Dutch airline KLM.
Although travellers may have recognised the monarch's voice as he updated them on weather conditions and their time of arrival, the royal's presence was never revealed.
The fleet of smaller Fokker 70 planes flown by the king are now being phased out by KLM, meaning he needs to take time out to retrain and learn to fly Boeing 737s.
The 50-year-old royal described his casual flights as a "hobby" - and said occasionally being able to leave his royal duties behind to concentrate on flying was "relaxing".
The father-of-three says he has no plans to learn how to fly a bigger aircraft, as flights which involve an overnight stop mean he "cannot get back in time to the Netherlands in case of an emergency".
The king is now looking to retrain to fly Boeing 737s
On staying incognito, he told De Telegraaf newspaper: "The advantage is that I can always say I am speaking on behalf of the captain and crew to welcome them on board, so I don't have to say my name.
"But then, most people don't listen anyway."
Re: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airl
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:05 pm
by IAHM-COL
Vincent second life unveiled !!!!!!
Re: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airl
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:06 pm
by KL-666
IAHM-COL
To me it is a surprise that this news now, also in The Netherlands. I know this already for some 30 years. In fact i recently wondered whether he is still doing it at his old age.
Kind regards, Vincent
Re: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airl
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:07 pm
by IAHM-COL
Other point: literally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij
Re: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airl
Posted: Fri May 26, 2017 6:28 am
by HJ1an
The King of Brunei does this very same thing as well, or so the rumors go. The fact is that he can fly commercial aircraft (mainly B747), but what was not so clear is if he does fly his citizens commercially or just his own private aircraft.
Re: The king of the Netherlands has revealed he has been living a secret double life as a co-pilot for a commercial airl
Posted: Sat May 27, 2017 1:23 pm
by jwocky
How old is he? Barely 50! There are still a lot of commercial pilots doing this every day. And since the world never heard about it, there was obviously never an incident of any kind, which speaks for his skills as pilot.
Now, here is another thing about Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei. He came on the throne in 1967 or '68. Something like that. At this time, the education in most technical areas was hardly existent there. Every engineer or doctor had to study somewhere in Europe or the USA and many were actually from there. Guest workers, if you want. So, he was from the start very interested in mostly technical things (not so much in medicine, there his interest was obviously more that of a ruler than a really involved person) and he started a university program and training programs. His military expansion for example served the military, well, but it also produced the first generation of actual Brunei pilots. So I guess, it was kind of more than just a fun thing to do. A king able to fly a plane and building at the same time a training system for pilots, flight-engineers, aerospace people of all brands ... it kind of fits together, doesn't it?