Pilots of American Eagle flight 2682 prepare to leave Fresno airport for the short flight to Los Angeles. It’s a short flight, less than 1 hour, and the two pilots are happy to chat with me as the few other passengers board the small aircraft.

My mind boggles when I look at how complicated the flight deck of an aeroplane is with its myriad of instruments, levers and gauges, but obviously, for the pilots this is just another day in the office.

“It’s not as hard as it looks,” one of the pilots tells me as he explains the various dials and switches of the a Bombardier CRJ200. The other pilot, who I notice is wearing a Santa Claus tie, suggests that being a non-pilot is probably a little similar to being a non-driver. “Driving a car probably looks complicated when you don’t know how to drive. It’s like anything, you just learn I suppose.”

So I’m taking to the air again, flying first to L.A. where I will catch a flight leaving the United States and heading south of the equator to the sunny South Pacific island of Fiji. I’ve had a great time seeing my friends in the States and so it’s always that bit harder to get back ‘on the road’ again, but I’ll be back soon enough I guess. For now though the journey must continue!