My first experience of Jet Blasting and St. Maarten
While searching through videos of on YouTube I stumbled upon a video called Jet Blasting in St. Martin and after drying my eyes from laughing hysterically I told my friend I just had to go there. I’ve always had a fascination of planes and amazed at their massive size so being able to see them this close during landings made me excited. Having so many friends from all over the Caribbean it was easy to get advice and information on St. Martin such as places to stay, eat and what airline to take. Luckily I had a friend from Guadeloupe (also a French island in the Lesser Antilles) who worked with Air France and informed me that this was the better choice airline to go with, especially since it was my first time to a French county. Air France was a few dollars more than American Airlines so I was very hesitant but all my friend had to do was explain to me how good the food and service is on Air France and I was hooked. I’m a strong believer that good customer service can make or break a customer. My friend said he would make sure I would never forget my first flight on Air France on to St. Martin and he was right, after checking in at the airport my friend escorted me on the plane to my first class seat, and then he had a few words with the flight attendant. I had no idea what was going but I could tell he was up to something (by the way the entire flight and crew spoke French, so that was a bit of a challenge). He came back to my seat to inform me that he has organized with the pilots for me to sit in the cockpit for the landing in Haiti & St. Martin. I was speechless! I mean I was happy just to be in first class and thought that was the special treatment I was getting, but little did I know there was more to come. So I said goodbye to my friend and sat back to relax.
Not too long into the flight the food and drinks were served. Did you know that first class passengers get free champagne? Well neither did I, I never got that memo so I ended up drinking apple juice but it was okay. The flight from Miami to Haiti wasn’t long and when I noticed we were approaching and the flight attendant didn’t come and ask me to move to the cockpit I was kind of relieved because I started to chicken out and wasn’t too keen on being in the cockpit of a 737. So after landing in Haiti, I was told to stay on the plane while some people got off and a few more boarded the plan. It was about 30-40min later we were still sitting at the gate and the flight attendant asked me if I wanted to come to the cockpit, I said sure, we were still on land why not. I went to the cockpit and met the pilots (the nicest gentlemen). They showed me all of the instruments they used, although I don’t know how they handle that small space. I guess they get used to that. So the co-pilot tells me to buckle up and showed me where to find the seat belt. I was like, HUH? Wait, am I really going to sit up here during take off? Well by the time I realized the answer to that question we were already taxing to the runway. All I remember doing was closing my eyes and before I knew it the skies were blue and we were in the air. Yeah, talk about a chicken but the most amazing thing about that take off is that you don’t feel a thing; it really was the smoothest take off I have ever experienced. All of my pilot friends say that’s one of the reasons why they enjoy flying. The flight attendant came back for me and said it was time for service. Again? But they just served us food from Miami to Haiti; sure enough another hot meal was being served to passengers. Wow, A+ to Air France.
After the second meal was served I had just started to get comfortable when the flight attendant came to escort me back to the cockpit. Here I go again, but this time I remembered to take my camera. It was really fun listening to radio and hearing all the different planes and airports in the area talking back and forth to each other. All I would hear is a city and I knew which island that transmission was coming from.
The sky was so clear and blue that day, not a cloud in site, it really was beautiful. Then we started to descend and I was able to see the runway directly ahead of us. Wow, was this plane going to land on that? I also was able to see the famous Maho Beach which is known for “jet blasting.” The only thing going through my mind at that time was how I had to get this on video tape because nobody would ever believe I got to experience this. So I made sure my camera was on video and started to record. As we got closer I started to get more and more excited, I didn’t want any of this experience to be missed so instead of looking at the amazing view I was too busy focusing on my camera and keeping it still while these amazing pilots landed this plane on this short runway. Landing was perfect, smooth as ever and gosh they make it look so easy.
The line to clear immigration was extremely long but once I passed through I couldn’t wait to get a tour around the island. I never knew how many tourists visit this island daily. My friend met me at the airport and we just drove around the island (all 30+ miles of it). St. Martin/St. Maarten is the smallest landmass in the world shared by two nations. The northern side (St. Martin) is governed by the French and the southern side (St. Maarten) by the Dutch. I thought there would be some sort of authorization to pass through from the French to Dutch/ Dutch to French side, but nope. Other than a small sign saying you’re on the French/Dutch side its free will. Most people will never notice when they have crossed the borders. The views from each side of the island were just amazing. We stopped at different areas on a hill and I was able to see the neighboring islands Saba, St. Eustatius, Anguilla and St. Barth´s.
Then we went down to the famous Maho Beach. I wanted to see one of those big body, double-decker planes land or take off, and to see all the crazy people on the beach get “jet blasted.” I can honestly say “jet blasting” is one of those things you would never believe unless you saw it. Sure enough people were on the beach getting directly behind these planes as they took off trying to hold themselves up, as if it was a sport. Just like the videos of jet blasting on YouTube, hysterical! I couldn’t stop laughing. There was even a warning sign up on the fence. Too funny! Now when they say the runway is on the beach, seriously it is, with the exception of this one lane road separating the beach and the fence. It really is an amazing site. My friend and I spent about 2 hours just watching flights come in and watching all these people try to withstand the winds of some of these jetliners and go rolling back into the ocean. We weren’t standing directly behind the engines but more off to the side, and even where we were standing we would still get strong blast from the engines.
My trip to St. Martin was definitely a memorable one, besides the jet blasting and the first class treatment I received, this island is truly breathtaking. The waters are so calm and clear. I spent one morning just sitting on the balcony gazing at Anguilla in the distance. The most beautiful waters I’ve seen in the Caribbean and so relaxing, most of the bigger resorts and condos are in town on the Dutch side but you will definitely find some reasonably priced hotels, local shops and cafes on the French side. I would highly recommend this location for honeymooners or anyone who is looking to get away for some R&R. As the Dutch side is more developed and tourist driven the beaches are beautiful and filled with many activities, restaurants, casinos and bars yet the French side offers a more secluded and peaceful type of vacation. I plan to take another trip to St. Martin and take in some of the boat tours to the surrounding islands.
Who am I?
Who am I?
