Captain flies out of service

Half a century after his first flight, Qantas captain Jeremy Whitty (above) made his final landing this week on a flight from Cairns.

IT was the year Harold Holt became prime minister, the dollar replaced the pound and conscripts flew to Vietnam.

Now, 50 years after his first flight in 1966, Qantas captain Jeremy Whitty made his final landings this week — touching down in Cairns on Monday October 18 before making his final flight to Sydney’s Sir Chales Kingsford Smith Airport.

The 69-year-old was the carrier’s longest-serving pilot who was still flying.

During his time he has met celebrities including Nicole Kidman, Cadel Evans and a host of PMs.

He said flying former Labor PM Gough Whitlam in the early ’70s was one of the standout moments.

“Gough was an imposing person in many ways, including his stature,” he said.

“The conversation was very short and to the point, saying to me: ‘You are too young to be flying a prime minister’.”

Mr Whitty volunteered to fly troops in and out of Saigon during the Vietnam War.

He was also the first pilot to land both the A380 aircraft into Frankfurt Airport and Qantas’ indigenous-painted aircraft into Hong Kong.

— BEN PIKE