The Patrician, September & October 2022

NEWS Around the Club

Even in October, sunny days and perfect flying weather are keeping the Club quite busy, but you should still consider swinging by for a flight.

Until we see you next time: have a spooky and safe Halloween season!

MATTE RUNNING FOR OFFICE

Gregory Matte is running for local office and our former GM could use your support! Learn about his platform and stances on page 5! And remember, no matter how you lean you should get out there and vote!

THE VFC IS HIRING!

Are you or someone you know looking to break into the world of aviation? The VFC is presently hiring Flight School Line Crew! This critical role ensures that aircraft are fueled, cleaned, and ready for takeoff, as well as other important duties. http://flyvfc.com/jobs

HOLIDAY PHOTOGRAPHERS

Last issue's call for cover photos was well received, so we thought that we'd ask for winter or holiday themed photos to feature in our next issue! Send your high-res pictures to the editor at vfcpatrician@gmail.com!

HELP BUILD A BETTER VFC

The VFC needs a people skilled in trades to help us make some upgrades and improvements to the Flying Club. Are If you have these skills, don't hesitate! Send an email to gm@flyvfc.com today!

WHAT'S YOUR STORY?

The Patrician thrives when we have stories to share with our readers. If you have a story about aviation adventures or something you think the VFC would enjoy, don't hesitate: contact us today at vfcpatrician@gmail.com and get featured! We're happy to accept written materials and do interviews!

SUPERSONIC FLIGHT

by Gregory Matte BGen (Ret’d) GCP, CD, PhD

I’ve been asked on numerous occasions to relate my experiences in the supersonic flight regime, in part based on the story I shared at the 2019 Wings Awards Banquet about flying supersonic at 100’ AGL. In fact, many if not most of the non-aviators that I took up for a backseat ride in the CF-18 asked to experience breaking the sound barrier. Spoiler alert… for most it was a non-event as they didn’t feel a thing, so I had to direct their eyes to the Mach meter so that they could see for themselves that they were hurtling through the sky faster than the speed of sound. Prior to Chuck Yeager’s flight in the Bell X-1 on 26 April 1948, many believed that supersonic flight was impossible.

The reason for this belief was the underlying physics. While air is far less dense then water or hydraulic fluid, it too can be compressed to the point of incompressibility…a barrier that would destroy any plane that attempted to pass through it. However, at altitude the air is far less dense than at sea level. When Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time, it was in the stratosphere at 45,000’

MSL. At lower altitudes, the air becomes increasingly dense, and the “experience” of going supersonic much different. Violent might be one of several adjectives that I would use, having once taken the CF-18 supersonic at 100’ AGL (approximately 2000’ MSL) over the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR).

While the CF-18 was designed for supersonic flight, with an upper limit of Mach 1.8 (which I explored on a separate occasion), my flight that day in May 1988 was an experience that I would never forget, nor repeat! To put things in perspective, the speed of sound (aka Mach 1) at 2000’ MSL on a standard day (15 degrees Celsius) is about 1100 feet per second, or 760 miles per hour. By way of a comparison, driving down the Pat Bay Highway at 122 kilometers per hour would equate to 76 miles per hour…one tenth the speed of sound. As you might imagine, the sense of speed as one gets closer and closer to the earth seems to increase exponentially. Flying supersonic at 100 feet above the treetops feels VERY fast. Naturally, the margin of error for a slight dip from level flight is negligible, so

it’s important to focus on maintaining level flight.

To fly faster than the speed of sound at low altitude, I started at about 20,000’ MSL where it’s easier for the Hornet to go super, than pushed the nose over and dove towards the earth in full afterburner while maintaining about 1.1 Mach, as I was concerned that I might slow back into the transonic regime as the air density increased. My plan worked, and a carefully pulled out of the descent as I transitioned below 1000’ AGL while remaining supersonic, leveling out at 100’ AGL (about 70’ AGL on my radar altimeter, given the trees). Fortunately, the terrain is relatively flat in the weapons range, so level flight was relatively easy to maintain…if it wasn’t for the thermals as my flight path criss-crossed over the cold water of the various lakes and the warmer land. But I’ll come back to that unexpected part of the “experience”.

While the total duration of my remaining super at 100’ AGL, it only lasted about 45 seconds, but that was as long as I could stand it, as I thought that at any moment the plane might suddenly

Supersonic

disintegrate out from under me do to the stress on the fuselage, wings and twin vertical stabilators. As I said early, “violent” is probably the best adjective I could use to describe the experience. In addition to disintegration, I was also concerned about the engines exceeding the placard limit of 852 degrees Celsius for exhaust gas temperatures EGT), as this could lead to engine fires or explosion.

What caught my attention first once I leveled out above the treetops was the manner in which the aircraft felt like it was struggling, as if was pulling a heavy weight behind it on a two rope. The plane seemed to almost be yawing slightly due to the minor asymmetries of airflow around the aircraft and the external pylons. The sound of the air rushing by the canopy was deafening. Then the wings caught my eye through my peripheral vision. Recall that the wings on the CF-18 are folding so that they can be closely parked together on board an aircraft carrier. I could see that the wings tips beyond the wing fold were flapping up and down by a foot or two at about 60 hertz. Was it possible for the wing lock to release due to the strain? Then I noticed the vertical stabilators in my mirrors. They were oscillating side to side at about 120 hertz.

Then there were the thermals. Ever thermal

caused a sudden and significant bounce. If it wasn’t for the 5-point harness (including the negative G strap), I probably would have cracked the canopy with my helmet as I bounced with each thermal in my seat. A quick glance at the EGT gauges indicated that the engines were running hot and getting too close for comfort.

Although this “experience” only lasted 45 seconds at the most, by this time my “spider sense” was telling me that maybe this wasn’t the best idea. I gently pulled away from “terra firma” to reduce the strain on the aircraft while slowing my speed, then came out of afterburners. Once I returned to a safer subsonic speed with a few thousand feet of air under me, I suddenly realized that my body was completely tensed up and my hands were trembling. As you might expect, I had a recurring dream for some

time thereafter wherein I was flying low level across an open field with a stand of trees at the far end of the field. Each dream ended with the realization that I waited to late to pull up and was destined to crash through the trees. Maybe it was my subconscious reminding me of the danger of low-level flight, and the foolishness of flying supersonic at 100’ AGL.

We have a saying in the fighter pilot world. There are bold pilots and there are old pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots. We have another saying as well…I’d rather by lucky than good. In my case I was lucky that I survived my bold phase to both enjoy many more years of flying the Hornet and to eventually become the “old man”, as the Wing Commander of 4 Wing Cold Lake at the ripe old age of 41.

Supersonic Flight

MEMBER ACHIEVEMENTS

FIRST SOLOS

Ashley Warwick

Toby Williams

Warwick

Keanu

Lloyd

PPL FLIGHT TEST

Richard Barnes

CPL FLIGHT TEST

Rebecca Adler

Chayer

Takumi Satake

Alastair

EXAM

CPL EXAM

Phoebe Lee

CLASS 3 INSTRUCTOR

Jacques Van Donkersgoed

GLIDER LICENSE

FIRST SOLOS

DIEGO SORRENTINO

Instructor:

NICK DISALVIA

"Without disruption of air traffic, these fearless, forthright, indomitable and courageous individuals did venture into the wild blue yonder in flying machines.

Furthermore, these skillful individuals did safely land said flying machines at Victoria International Airport, incurring no significant damage to self or machine, thus completing first solo flights."

GUY BEDFORD

Brent Newman

Sarah Steele

Mateos Hayes

Hanna Cox

Keith Vass

Sydney Trepanier

Curran Hunter-Jongsma

Megan Tezram

Ali-Reza Charehsaz

Spencer Bacon

Leonard Nickel

James McBride

NEW MEMBERS

Stephanie Jackson Clayton Flett

Lucas Nyantahe

David Longridge

Ryan Ritchie

Emil Fichter

Ben Sharrett

Jayden Knoles

Max Courtney Veronica Lane

Nicole Roach

Mina Shenouda

Kerem Akras

Benjamin Callin

Emily Whitelaw

Joshua Audet

Angus Waltier

Dale Bawol

Jonathan Watson

Jack Jones

Martin Lorenz

Jayden Poland

Ground School Schedule

New Members &

GROUND SCHOOL SCHEDULE

PRIVATE PILOT LICENCE GROUND SCHOOL

PPL #22-04: MAY 21/2022 TO SEPT 10/2022 Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL #22-07: SEPT 11/2022 TO DEC 11/2022 Sundays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL: OCT 1/2022 TO DEC 17/2022 Saturdays (09:00 - 16:00)

PPL #22-08 SD 61: SEPT 12/2022 TO NOV 15/2022 Mondays & Tuesdays (09:00 - 15:30)

Individual scheduling requests are available for Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence, Mountain Awareness Training (MTA), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Drone) Courses (RPAS) by request.

Individual tutoring is also available for PPL and CPL upon request.

Confirm your attendance by contacting: Neil Keating: (204) 291-9667 Brenda Miller: (250) 656-2833

VFC MENTOR PROGRAM

There's no better gift than knowledge. Do you want other pilots to fly with, split flight cost, share knowledge, or get help getting to a new airport for the first time? Find potential mentors and their resumes posted on the Mentors bulletin board beside the Dispatch counter. Contact details are on each mentor's resume or you can email mentors@flyvfc.com for more information.

Interested in becoming a mentor? There's always room for more experienced pilots! Send an email to mentors@flyvfc.com for more information on how to join up!

PARKING AVAILABLE!

Interested in prime paved parking spaces for your aircraft? Good News: there are spots available!

Secure, pull-in/pull-out, easy access.

Call Dispatch at 250-656-2833 to arrange a spot or to get on the waitlist for hangar spaces!

“ WHITEHORSE OR BUST”

BY JOEY MARTIN AND WILL FRASER

PILOTS : Joey Martin, 150 hour commercial student, & Will Fraser, 150 hour commercial student.

SITUATION : Despite many raised eyebrows, two CPL students decide to take a single engine plane 800 nm to Whitehorse to fulfill their 300 nm cross-country requirement.

DAY: 1

ROUTING: CYYJ-CYBL-CBBC-PAKT

DATE: August 23rd, 2022

PIC: Joey Martin

LESSON: CBP is no joke, file your eAPIS ahead of time

The morning of our first day was promising with clear weather forecast most of the way up the coast. One unfortunate exception was a low ceiling over the North Island. We stopped for fuel in Campbell River to reassess and after confirming the upper limits of the cloud layer, we flew our first

of what would be many OTT legs over the North Island and into Bella Bella.

Our quick fuel stop was extended due to the PIC’s lack of preparation for US Customs. After pulling out a laptop on the tarmac to create an eAPIS account and submit our arrival intentions, we called CBP who were kind enough to give us landing rights in Ketchikan and send an officer out to meet us at the airport.

Ketchikan International is set along the city’s harbour which parallels the runway and is next to an incredibly busy seaplane base where the seaplane circuit flies over the airport terminal close and perpendicular to aircraft landing on the runway. Between the barrage of float planes and many Alaska Airlines 737s landing on the 7500 ft runway, the Tower controller announced our presence as a C172 on long final with repeated surprise to the Alaskan aviators.

“And there’s a CESSNA long final for 29” would become the slogan of our trip.

Taxiing to the FBO was relatively easy although we did get a slap on the wrist for leaving our plane before being met by Customs. We would recommend Ketchikan to anyone who is interested in a longer trip a little less far afield than the Yukon. It is easily accessible in one day’s flying, is very similar to BC Coastal flying (at least in the summer), and gives a taste of Alaskan living without the hassle of cruise ships or expensive airline flights.

ROUTING : PAKT - CYXY

:

PIC : Joey Martin

2022

LESSONS : Nothing is quick in general aviation

We woke up to a great forecast for our flight to Whitehorse. So good, in fact, that we even considered switching pilots in Whitehorse and starting to make our way home to avoid worse weather later in the week. The lunacy of that plan would become apparent to us.

We were first hindered in our departure by a miscommunication with the FBO and an hour on hold with CBSA. We finally took off from Ketchikan with a long climb on runway heading, careful to avoid the “Berlin airlift” of sea planes taking off and landing immediately next to the airport.

The first half of the four hour flight was spectacular with more Alaskan coastal flying over small island towns serviced by enormous runways. Once we cut into the Alaskan mountains, our easy vacation flying sailed into the past as we began to feel the orographic turbulence of mountain flying. We also noticed that 2000’ AGL looks a lot less comfortable when it’s above rugged, uninhabitable northern mountains. Later on, whatever

sunshine and rainbows had been forecast for our arrival did not appear as we met the Yukon River.

Going up the Whitehorse valley, ATIS confirmed what we were already experiencing - winds 15 gusting 24 knots but luckily virtually down the pipe. We bounced through the circuit courtesy of terrain east of the airport. Once on final, with a warning of wind shear due to a valley in front of the runway, we made a high speed approach but relatively simple landing. We taxied off to clear customs (no one showed up) and fuel and soon said out loud what we were thinking an hour ago in the plane: “we’re not leaving here tonight”.

We fuelled up and wandered the apron looking for the airport manager, surprised at the relative laissez-faire

attitude of what otherwise looks like an international airport. Indeed, security guards actively drove away from the two lost pilots wandering around the secure zone. Once we finally located the helpful airport manager, she informed us of the $6 parking fee and pointed us to the nearby pilot’s bar.

In hindsight, we’re both grateful that we didn’t attempt our ill-advised plan to race to Smithers before sunset. Not only would it have been an enormous day of flying, but we would have missed out on the true prize of the trip - the fantastic city of Whitehorse. The highlight of our night was running into people from throughout our day - at the airport, hotel, and serving in other restaurants - as they finished their days with us at the Dirty Northern pub.

Whitehorseor Bust

ROUTING : CYXY-CYDLCYYD

DATE : August 25th, 2022

PIC : Will Fraser

LESSON : If you like flying slow while staring at the fuel gauge, plan to lean for endurance.

We woke up to partly cloudy skies in Whitehorse as we wandered the town for some breakfast and souvenirs. Arriving at the airport, we saw one hole of blue sky in the direction we wanted to go. After dutifully trying to pay for parking - the box was locked inside a construction zone - we were told by the airport staff to just chalk it up as free. A thorough weather briefing, complete with a quick quiz on OTT weather limits, indicated that with some cloud dodging and OTT flight (again very grateful we finished that rating) we could make it to Dease Lake. Our initial plan would have included a fuel stop at Watson Lake to give us some more fuel flexibility, but a call to the airport that morning informed us that the AVGAS pump

was broken with no repair for another week. A very important reminder to double check everything.

After some friendly conversation with some American commercial pilots flying up to Alaska to hunt (“well we’re going to file IFR and head out”...must be nice…) we taxied off. We waited for what felt like the world record for longest reversal of an active runway (to our chagrin due both to our fuel state and the quickly closing cloud hole home) and finally departed for Dease Lake.

We proceeded out under the dark skies of the Whitehorse Valley looking anxiously for a path above the ceiling. This obsession, and one failed attempt, ended up costing us precious time and fuel as we continued to try and climb above ceilings that just didn’t seem to top out. Finally, we made it above the ceiling by climbing to 11,800’ with our faithful 30 minute timer runner. We flew over both clouds and mountains to the remote airport at Dease Lake which had a delightful 5000’ mountain obstructing the

runway and power lines 50’ to one side. We were greeted by the airport manager who commented on how our airplane looked like it “came out of a kid’s cereal box” and exclaimed “you flew that thing to Whitehorse?!!”.

After a quick stretch and triple check of the fuel, we departed for Smithers. While we initially planned on flying a mountain VFR route, when we were unable to keep our eyes off the fuel gauge (and realizing just how slow flying for maximum endurance is), we opted for the bumpier direct route. The flight that followed did not in any way resemble fun vacation flying as we obsessively stared at our fuel storage and flow gauges while also trying to find a half decent place to land below us. “If we run out of fuel, our wives will kill us,” we thought aloud more than once.

As we flew over the Bulkley Valley, we felt a lot more comfortable as civilization and plenty of landing fields opened up in front of us. We landed in Smithers with one hour of fuel left and a reinvigorated respect for fuel management. There’s no need to delve into the mess that the rest of our night unfolded into, but suffice to say the Bulkley Valley Exhibition books out every (and we mean every) hotel in town, there are no taxis in Smithers, and the town is just over an hour walk down open highway from the airport (trust us).

Whitehorse

DAY : 4

ROUTING : CYYD-CYXT

DATE : August 26th, 2022

PIC : Will Fraser

LESSON : Sometimes just landing in a town with a warm bed is a win

We woke up the next morning with a singular objective - get the hell out of Smithers. Before we left, we were treated to some genuine GA camaraderie as various small planes carrying hunting parties and visiting family members arrived. After our tarmac meet and greet, we packed up and flew along the Telkwa River from Smithers to Terrace. This was our first experience on the trip with flying between mountains rather than over them and was a good reminder about how much power it can take to maintain your altitude when squeezing through a valley.

Landing in Terrace, we were eager to get back to the Island. In this case, our sights were set on Alert Bay which we had skipped on our way up due to weather. Unfortunately, Mother Nature again did not want to play ball and after much time talking with the fantastic briefers in Kamloops (who became very curious about if “we had floats” and stated “I don’t like to brief routes that can’t be flown”) we resigned ourselves to the fact that there was no VFR route home for us today.

DAY : 5

ROUTING : CYXT-CYBLCYYJ

DATE : August 27th, 2022

PIC : Will Fraser

LESSON : It’s not over until it's over.

We woke well before the sun to see yet another doom and gloom forecast. The briefer, however, seemed confident that if

we made it to the coast, we could likely fly OTT home with clear skies in Comox securing us a spot on the Island. What concerned us most was the local weather in Terrace was only forecast to get worse (ie. 500’ ceilings). If we couldn’t get out in the morning, we might be stuck for the long haul. We thus made sure to be on our take off roll one minute after sunrise.

As we proceeded towards the coast below the 3000’ ceilings, we began to see glimmers of hope as patches of blue sky poked through the gray morning clouds. We were determined to learn our lesson from Whitehorse and not climb at best angle for the first blue patch we saw. We thus remained disciplined and proceeded above the inland waterways to the coast where we were greeted by a beautiful path to climb to above 8000’ and head back to Vancouver Island.

Of course, our trip just couldn’t let us off easy. As we flew into the clear

skies of Campbell River, we were treated to 15 gusting 20-25 knots. Getting on the ground, however, we felt a new levity knowing that somehow, some way, we could be getting home before the end of the weekend. After a fantastic breakfast (highly recommend the perogie eggs benedict), we fuelled up and headed for home. It was not a victory lap, but instead a very bumpy flight down Island. As we approached our reporting point we were welcomed by a club aircraft with “Hey, aren’t you the guys that flew to Whitehorse?”. We finally came into the Cowichan Valley and

were happy to be cleared in by Tower to our final destination. Special thanks to the Dispatch team for sorting through our stack of crumpled fuel receipts and many many crossed out lines in the Journey Log.

If you ever want to chat, we can be reached at joeymartin888@gmail.com or Fraser.will@gmail.com or else found around the Club flying extremely local routes for the foreseeable future.

Another SucceSSful open houSe

On Saturday, September 24th, the Victoria Flying Club held its annual Open House event. It was a lovely day with clear skies, perfect for flying.

Visitors were treated to a multitude of information tables, numerous planes and aviation organizations outside, as well as Discovery Flights! There were even some snacks in the lounge.

Thanks to all of the volunteers and organizations who came out and helped make this open house a resounding success.

Events like this help bring fresh blood into the club, and this year was no exception. If you're a new member who signed up at the open house, we here at the Patrician would like to be among the first to welcome you aboard!

PIZZA DELIVERY

PIZZA AIR DELIVERY TO THE DESERT

By Brandon Baker, VFC Member

This Past month, one of our newer pilots at VFC made a long distance pizza delivery to Black Rock City in the Nevada Dessert. Pilot Brandon Baker, of Victoria, went down to Burning Man this year, and in his adventures managed to meet some other pilots from around the continent. One of these pilots offered to rent his plane out to Brandon for the week after he expressed interest in going for a flight from 88NV, an airport with a sand runway that only exists a few weeks a year.

After flying dozens of passengers around the temporary tent and RV city of 70,000 people, he came up with the idea to have a combined pizza party between his camp, and the group of the other pilot who rented him the plane.

the desert

Getting

gate.

One morning near the end of the event, Brandon and two of his friends departed 88NV (Black Rock City) and flew to KLOL (Lovelock), 56 miles away and at a density altitude of 7500', to go pick up 10 pizzas and get some more avgas.

The pizza company, Lovelock Pizza, normally wouldn't deliver to the

Some of the happy customers

Special delivery vehicle

Lovelock Airport, but when they heard the day before before that this pizza was going to get delivered by air to Burning Man, they were more than happy to make the exception!

In the end there were about 40 people from two camps very happy to get fresh pizza delivered in the middle of the desert!

Trialing the pizza in the AC before returning to the desert

Pizza Air Delivery

To the desert

SCARES IN THE AIR

A GHASTLY SELECTION OF SOME OF THE BEST HORROR MOVIES ON PLANES

By Kelly J Clark

When it comes to aviation, it wouldn't be bold to say that the unique thrills and excitement of flight is a big part of what hooks prospective pilots. The way we see it, horror films are pretty much the same!

This Halloween season, why not have the best of both worlds? Let's talk about some of the best horror movies on or involving airplanes! Below you'll find just a small sampling of the mile high nightmares you waiting for you, presented in no particular order.

Final Destination (2000)

A group of high schoolers on their senior trip to Paris are kicked off their plane after one of them has an all-too real premonition of a mechanical failure causing a mid-air explosion.

When that vision turns out to be true, the teens find themselves being stalked by death itself, who seeks to reclaim the lives of those who escaped certain doom through gruesome causality.

As brutal as it was creative, Final Destination spawned half a dozen sequels with mixed reception, but the first flick is a horror season must. Plus, it's full of "Oh hey, isn't that..." moments from the turn of the century.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet

The Twilight Zone (1963) / Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) / The Twilight Zone (2019)

Arguably the most famous episode of The Twilight Zone, this story has been remade three separate times (and that's even not including dozens of parodies and homages, like the phenomenal Terror at 5 1/2 Feet from the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror IV).

You likely already know the setup: a man on a plane sees something happening, either on the wing or in the plane, but no one believes him. Can he save everyone in time? Or is he actually just crazy?

You probably prefer whichever version you saw first, but if you haven't seen it yet we suggest you pick the horror era or actor you prefer: William Shatner (1963), John Lithgow (1983), or Adam Scott (2019).

For our money, we stand by Bart Simpson (1993).

Blood Red Sky (2021)

MOVIES

AIR:

A mother and her son travel to America from Germany seeking treatment for her rare and mysterious illness. With so much on the line their transatlantic flight is, of course, hijacked by terrorists.

Unfortunately for the terrorists, this mom is more than capable of taking a bite out of crime. The movie quickly turns into Die Hard on a plane. With vampires. Which we assume is the exact pitch the creators gave to Netflix.

SCARES IN THE AIR: HALLOWEEN MOVIES

The Langoliers (1995)

Based on the Stephen King story of the same name, The Langoliers is a mini-series that aired on ABC in 1995. It follows the passengers of a plane who find themselves trapped outside of time and facing a cosmic force that literally consumes everything they've ever known. Their only hope? Keep flying, obviously!

Sounds like a metaphor for flight school.

The Langoliers was written during one of the weirder phases of King's career, but we can't help but be suckers for the awful mid-90s adaptations of his work. Can you believe they developed his work for prime time on network TV? Yikes.

Red Eye (2005)

Wes Craven made his name in supernatural horror, but this more grounded thriller is one of his best films and one of the best movies on the list.

A hotel manager takes a red-eye flight from Dallas to Miami and finds herself sitting next to a handsome and charming man who soon turns out to be much more than he appears. Tense and dramatic and with a great cast, it's just the ticket for a nail-biting thrill ride.

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)

Set in World War II, Shadow in the Cloud follows an RAF officer who is tasked with delivering a top secret package. She catches a lift aboard an American B-17 bomber, only to end up transported and later trapped inside of the plane's ball turret.

That's a recipe for disaster even before the plane is attacked by a supernatural creature. Which, in case you were worried: of course it is.

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

You knew it was coming.

Internet joke turned major motion picture, Snakes on a Plane delivers what it promises: there's a plane and it has snakes. It also has Samuel L. Jackson in what would be one of his most memorable roles. Which is weird, because the film itself is mostly forgettable.

That said, while most of these movies make viewers nervous about flying, it takes a special kind of film to give an entire generation of men a snake-related phobia of airline toilets.