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Good morning.聽

I would never dream, of driving a vehicle with no windows It would all be terrifying - and extremely foolish.聽

Well, 90 years ago today, a man called James Doolittle did the equivalent of that in a plane. He took off from an air force base on Long Island, New York in a small aircraft with a hooded cockpit that blocked out all light and any view of the outside. His goal was to prove that it was possible to take off, fly a particular course, and land again, relying solely on the few basic instruments available to pilots at the time.聽

I鈥檓 fond of the word 鈥測ikes鈥�, and I think it applies here. In 1929 if a pilot couldn鈥檛 see the ground it was easy to get disoriented and not be able to tell what direction the plane was going or whether it was even heading up or down. Pilots simply avoided flying in the dark, in fog or above cloud cover. Now, Doolittle was a brave man. Later a daring air raid on Japan during World War II was named after him. He also set many flying records before and after the War, and his exploits at times seemed frankly foolish. His feat of flying using instruments only paved the way for modern airlines to eventually fly safely in all weather and times of day.聽

Despite his reputation as a daredevil, Jimmy Doolittle was ready for that flight. He鈥檇 worked it out with engineers and practised for a year. 鈥淭here was never any doubt in my mind鈥�, he said. Sometimes, when we鈥檙e faced with those 鈥榊ikes!鈥� moments - when the ground feels as though it is very far away, it鈥檚 courage AND preparation that will see us through the fog, the dark, or the clouds.聽

Dear Lord of wings and wheels, guide us in all our travels and help us to keep ourselves safe on the journey. Amen