Jetgala - FALL-WINTER 2022

4 J E D I T O R ’ S N O T E HIT THE ROAD, JACK! B ut make sure you come back with stories. Adventure travel is on an uptick – the love child of a hankering for the rituals of travel and the real longing for open roads. So, in this issue we’re running adventure stories as told by people who actually stepped out either to test some machines or how far some roads actually go. Or both. Boon Sim covered the dirt tracks all over the Himalayas on a Royal Enfield, Ju Kuang hopped on a Harley and rode around Pattaya, and Rob went all out testing and rating EVs and even a jaunty little Koenigsegg. Luke, with whom I have worked at photoshoots, went to a flying school during tail-end of the lockdown, completed a course, and now brandishes a certificate that allows him to fly a (small) plane.This time he filed a story about flying schools in Singapore, an informative and useful guide. Of course, Boon is a well-regarded architect whose works often defy common nomenclature. I remember visiting his well-articulated, multi-layered house and the road finds that were casually strewn on tabletops and hung on the walls like proper trophies from battles, the bamboo poles that double up as a shower curtain, the man-cave packed with things that one would need on a road trip.There was, I believe, a kayak leaning against a wall somewhere…. Of course, Ju Kuang is the Houdini of descriptions not because he avoids them but because he does so many things – and to perfection, take note.At the height of the lockdowns, when I was recovering from my triple bypass, Ju Kuang came to visit me at home with a perfect sourdough that he had just baked as a go-get-well present. He’s like that. He wants it, he does it, he nails it. He’s also a seasoned journo and an inveterate golfer. Perhaps the other way around. Of course, Rob is a tough businessman whose many robust appetites include putting cars and motorbikes to extreme tests and then writing about his findings down to the tiniest details. Oh, before I forget, there’s Sonja Piontek, world traveler, keynote speaker and author, who profiled her friend Capt. Martin Schroder, who in turn flies a Boeing 747-8 – the largest version of the 747s – for Cargolux. His is the most irresistible profession and adventure rolled into one: One time he transported two fully grown Beluga whales from Shanghai to Iceland where they were released in an open water whale sanctuary.Way cool. The latest fromTextron Aviation, Dassault Aviation,AMACAerospace, andVistaJet are also in this issue, but I’m sure you will not skip any of them. And now the other good news. In 2023, we will run four issues of Jetgala instead of the usual two.Yes, we slowed down during the pandemic but the readers and the market are back and they are demanding more.Well, we’re only too happy to oblige.