Up, Up and away

GLEN DELL is one of the world’s top aerobatic pilots. But you wouldn’t think that from his calm demeanour, at least not if your idea of an aerobatic pilot comes from Hollywood movies.

Dell is the antithesis of the hypermacho personality embodied in films such as Top Gun. Which is not to say he’s not masculine or virile – he’s certainly the former and I can’t vouch for the latter other than the clear blue glint in his eyes – but simply put, Dell is a gentleman, not an out-of-control egomaniac. Tom Cruise might have been very sexy in his flying gear, but I’d much rather have Dell’s calm and precise energy at the controls behind me when I’m plummeting straight down towards Earth at 380km per hour.Which is what I found myself doing last Sunday afternoon on a terrifically clear winter’s day – going for a spin with a stunt pilot – although I’m not sure that Dell would appreciate the term.

It’s a little hard to separate the experience of flying with Dell from his personality. He is the perfect custodian of speed and danger, which in his calm and capable hands both wear a smile and safety goggles.

And I’m sure that it’s thanks to Dell that I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. Which is not a boast and has nothing to do with me being brave. I wasn’t scared because it simply wasn’t scary. Which came as a surprise to me. I had expected to be terrified – I’m sufficiently scared of heights to have organised a trip to Chain Ladder in the Berg and then found myself unable to climb the ladder.
But the terror – or even vague fear – never came during the series of aerobatic manoeuvres Dell executed with me, even though I kept expecting it.
The brief and uneventful drive to Virginia Airport, where I met Dell, and from where he took me to fly through the sky over the old Durban airport, was far more nerve-racking. The experience was surprising, and different from what I’d expected. Instead of rushing excitement, the experience was beautiful, deeply so. It’s the strangest thing to feel serene as you’re hurtling – even gracefully – through the sky at high speed. And for the first time I understood the appeal of flying as a hobby or career.

I’d always thought that it was about the thrill of danger, but it turns out that it’s also about a deep sense of peace, as Dell confirmed when I spoke to him in a little bar in the corner of one of Virginia’s hangars.
Is there a spiritual or soulful aspect of flying for you? Without a doubt. These days, flying is heading increasingly towards the science of flying and it’s becoming a little push-button. There have been unfortunate accidents that could be attributed to modern aviation becoming purely sciencebased.

I love to read books by Ernest Gann about the guys who were flying in the 1930s, when it was really a romantic thing. And I do believe – as you said – that there’s a spiritual side to it. I also believe that you can tell the difference between people who look at aviation in a spiritual way – that there’s something mystical, beautiful and romantic about it – as opposed to a means of getting from point A to point B.