Ato Boldon loves flying planes

The need for speed has followed Trinidad sprint great Ato Boldon on and off the track. The retired former Olympic 100m silver medallist spoke to spikesmag.com about his passion for flying planes.

"I always wanted to fly planes. My uncle was a vet in the Bay Area. I had been flying in small, light aircraft since I was five or six so I’ve always had a passion for flying. One of my first memories was going up with my uncle and I realised then it was the coolest thing. He told me it was best for calming his nerves and anytime after my retirement when I was stressed and things were not going well, I would take to the skies.

"Quite frankly I should have started flying a lot earlier, but after I retired in the summer of '04 I started training in December, so I’ve been flying for more than three years now.

"Although I find it very calming and relaxing I do get nervous. Flying is ones of those things if you make a stupid judgement call, you don’t get a second chance. It is hours of boredom separated by seconds of sheer terror. I suppose it is a bit like track and field in that way.

"I remember I was flying with a female companion of mine and I got a little cocky and I got myself into a situation where I wasn’t sure of where I was at with visibility. I almost got myself caught in a place where I had to rely on instruments, so that was stupid and would have been a dumb way to die.

"You should always be thinking ahead of the aircraft. My whole life I was flying on the computer and I know the danger is on the ground or in the mountains, so you point the airplane towards the sky and you climb... that usually solves a lot of issues.

"I also enjoy flying because you realise that this is not a job that everyone can do. It does give you a sense of satisfaction that’s for sure. I’ve already achieved one of my aims, which was to land a plane at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad. My next aim is to fly from my home in Florida and island hop all the way to Trinidad."