It's probably not a good idea for any of us to try mating in the air.

When I was being an air observer at Jindabyne during the 2003 fires there was a fair amount of downtime, sitting in the aircrew tent at the airstrip. AMong us was a rather comely young lady who was the pilot for one of the three fixed wing aircraft; there were 23 choppers outnumbering her. The aircraft she flew carried a radio repeater used by the multitudes of fire crews scattered through the Kosciuszko National Park; all she was required to do was get up to 10,000' and maintain a 'figure 8 flight pattern' centred on a particular grid reference. When I commented that it must be boring she said she was used to it and spent much of the time writing assignments; she was using the flying hours accrued towards her commercial licence.

When I asked what she did for a crust she replied she was a uni student in Perth, WA. I said that flying as a student must be rather a drain on the budget and she said she got paid for her flying, as she worked, part time, as a pilot for a business catering for those who wished to join the Mile High Club. Such couple would be escorted to the aircraft, which had a double mattress and a bar fridge aft of the pilot's area and separated from it by a curtain. When she had gained 6,500' altitude she would notify the couple and fly a 'figure 8 flight pattern' for the next 3/4 hour and write more uni assignments while gaing flying hours towards her commercial licence.

Nice work if you can get it, I suppose. And relatively little danger to those who wish to mate in the air.

Cheers, Rowan