How to approach things

“Airports are emotionally unique landscapes…”

Douglas Adams

I used to be a terrible flyer, but now I am pretty average in terms of anxiety levels. How did I achieve this? Well firstly B-blockers, and secondly improved knowledge. Landing is the most risky phase of flight, so information about how to safely approach an airport is comforting for passengers, and critical for their pilots. Elrey Jeppeson was a young US Mail pilot in the early 1930s. This really was dangerous work, and Elrey knew it. He started a little black note book, into which he jotted down all he could about the airfields he fly to and from. He recorded field lengths, elevation, slopes, local quirks of the wind and weather, and most importantly, local obstacles. Pretty soon he had a good going side hustle, selling copies of the notebook to other pilots for $10 a piece. Come 2026 and Jeppeson is a multibillion company, a subsidiary of Boeing. More importantly, Jeppeson charts are now the bible of airports worldwide, and are consulted during every takeoff and landing. Sometimes they are even used in cockpits. #comeflywithme #letsmakelemonade