When John Mills was going to fly in an aeroplane for the first time, he was frightened. He did not like the idea of being thousands of feet up in the air. “ I also didn‟t like the fact that I wouldn‟t be in control,” says John. “I‟m a terrible passenger in the car. When somebody else is driving, I tell them what to so. It drives everybody crazy.” However John couldn‟t avoid flying any longer. It was the only way he could visit his grandchildren in Canada. “I had made up my mind that I was going to do it, I couldn‟t let my son, his wife and their three children travel all the way here to visit me. It would be so expensive for them and I know Tom‟s business isn‟t doing so well at the moment – it would also be tiring for the children – it‟s a nine-hour flight!” he says.

   To get ready for the flight John did lots of reading about aeroplanes. When he booked his seat, he was told that he would be flying on a Boeing 747, which is better known as a jumbo jet. “I needed to know as much as possible before getting in that plane. I suppose it was a way of making myself feel better. The Boeing 747 is the largest passenger aircraft in the world at the moment. The first one flew on February 9th 1969 in the USA. It can carry up to 524 passengers and 3.400 pieces of luggage. The fuel for aeroplanes is kept in the wings and the 747’s wings are so big that they can carry enough fuel for an average car to be able to travel 16,000 kilometres a year for 70 years. Isn‟t that unbelievable? Even though I had discovered all this very interesting information about the jumbo, when I saw it for the first time, just before I was going to travel to Canada, I still couldn‟t believe that something so enormous was going to get up in the air and fly. I was even more impressed when I saw how big it was inside with hundreds of people!” The biggest surprise of all for John was the flight itself. “The take-off itself was much smoother than I expected although I was still quite scared until we were in the air. In the end, I managed to relax, enjoy the food and watch one of the movies and the view from the window was spectacular. I even managed to sleep for a while! Of course,” continues John, “the best reward of all was when I arrived in Canada and saw my son and his family, particularly my beautiful grandchildren. Suddenly, I felt so silly about all the years when I couldn‟t even think of getting on a plane. I had let my fear of living stop me from seeing the people I love most in the world. I can visit my son and family as often as I like now!”

How did John feel when the aeroplane was taking off?

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