I wanted to fly like Dad
When Captain Peter Probert touched Qantas’ first A380 on the tarmac in Sydney yesterday morning and subsequently spoke to the 3,000 guests in the hanger after party, [left] it was clearly a very emotional moment for him.
The reason is that Peter’s late father, Roly Probert, flew Qantas’ first Boeing 747 on its first flight to Australia 37 years earlier, with Peter very emotional in his speech saying, “It’s special for me because of the history associated with it.â€
“It’s just great to follow in his footsteps – I always wanted to fly like Dad,” shedding an emotional tear after he had parked the A380 in a hangar, a bit like we park a car in a parking bay.
In the audience sitting right next to The Mole, beaming from ear to ear were Peter’s two daughters Savannah pictured right and Sheridan, pictured left and when asked if they were proud of their dad, replied, “Yes of course!” and even better, when asked if they would like to fly like Dad, Savannah was quick to respond , “Yesâ€!
Peter also said that it had always been his dream to fly the first A380 into Sydney.
It looks like the Probert family flying tradition will continue – hey Savannah and Sheridan’s Mum, Tracey also worked for Qantas as a flight attendant, which is where she met Peter and the family is liberally sprinkled with Qantas staff, including Peter’s mother was a flight attendant and that is how she met Peter’s Dad….aw, the romantic side of Qantas!
An on location report by the Mole from Sydney International Airport and the arrival of the first Qantas A380
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