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Dutch King Reveals He Has Been a First Officer for KLM for 21 Years

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King Willem-Alexander, 50, said he has ended his role as a regular First Officer after 21 years on KLM's fleet of Fokker 70 planes. He will now retrain to fly Boeing 737s as the Fokkers are being phased out of service. (dailym.ai) More...

Kris Durbin
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WavemanT
WavemanT 7
I think it's cool that the King got to do what he loves, but is flying twice a month sufficient to maintain proficiency? And, now that the news is out more widely, wouldn't his continued role as a co-pilot make his flights a target?
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Bernie20910
Bernie20910 2
A target for what?
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alexa320
alex hidveghy 2
Not if he gets his 3 takeoffs or landings within a 90-day period. Or whatever the EASA equivalent is.
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drdek
drdek 7
It's good to be the king!
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Kairho
Kairho Carroll 6
It's nice to have some Fun News these days.
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birkenduin
Frederik deCockBuning 5
well done King , keep on flying !
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RuthAGrimes
Ruth A Grimes 3
Congratulations, Sir!
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jpkubalak
jpkubalak 3
This is pretty cool but I think Pope Benedict's got him beat. He flew the Vatican helicopter himself, and never had a automobile driver's license.
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amiablebird
Ed Merriam 2
also, QEII insisted on chauffeuring King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at high speeds to freak him out as well
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Kairho
Kairho Carroll 1
Now THIS is ultimate cool!
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we0209
William Jensen 2
How cool is that?
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mnflagg1980
Marty Flagg 1
VERY! :)
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peterlmaas2
Peter Maas 2
well well, King Willem being instructed how to pilot the Boeing 737 now that Fokker is being phased out. The flying Dutchman will always stay alive .
The first twin engine Fokker was presented to queen Beatrix 40 years ago.
Soesterberg is a small upscale town where the King has his palace and is staffed by American Pilots using the F-15 Jet fighters. Do not worry, the King is well protected.
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jbsimms
James Simms 1
Camp New Amsterdam inactivated in 1994 & the entire base shut down in 2008.
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mnflagg1980
Marty Flagg 2
Excellent.
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alexa320
alex hidveghy 1
I think King Hussein of Jordan (the current King's father) also did this but don't know if it was on a regular basis. That was with Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines.
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smfsemperfi66
Stephen Fremgen 1
Already knew this; I thought it was common knowledge. Passengers on KLM City hoppers often enjoyed seeing who was in the cockpit.
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Rodas
Nalin Sehgal 1
That was a very nice gesture 👍
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joelwiley
joel wiley 1
It sounds like it's the role of the Fokker 70 that is ending.
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harmgb
harm buning 1
Bravo!
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NX211
NX211 0
Like others here I think it's great that he has this outlet & diversion.. However, with flying only twice a month ( maybe less at times due to official responsibilities? ) It seems difficult to gain & maintain proficiency in a commercial situation where he is assuming responsibility for the lives of his passengers.
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alexa320
alex hidveghy 1
He is the First Officer (co-pilot) and there is a fully qualified Captain in the left seat I would imagine. So, not a problem as he is not on his own! See also my post above for definition of proficiency and/or currency.
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