ETERNAUT

Hanno Harenberg

I was born in a North German coastal city and grew up in a small village close to the North Sea.

When I was a kid I wanted to become a cruise ship captain.

Sometime and somehow my dream job must have changed: I ended up being a pilot.

I started flying in the German Air Force. After initial training I flew the sturdy Transall C-160. The version I operated was equipped with the original cockpit layout designed in the 50s… maybe that’s why I am still so much into old school analog instruments… at least as backup for my boat.

A few years later I managed to join the VIP squadron. The stubby A310-300 might not have been the prettiest bird in the sky due it’s length to width proportion, but surely it was a great machine to fly.

But: You are employed as officer, not as pilot. With increasing risk of becoming a “desk pilot” I left the Air Force and moved on.

Airbus Man

I quit the Air Force and found a new job in Hong Kong where I kept flying Airbus. A320, A321, A330-300… I became what is called: “Airbus Man”.

There were only two other airplanes I could have imagined flying instead:

• The icon in aviation: The mighty and classic B747, or
• The B777 with the largest airplane engines around at that time

I received the offer to fly B777 freighter as captain for a German Airline late 2018. That was a once a lifetime opportunity, like winning the lottery.

Covid-19

Flying freighter planes was an interesting and fun change. Until COVID-19 stuck: massive flight interruptions – immense flight re-scheduling. Flight Dispatchers and Flight Crew had difficulties to keep up with the different quarantine rules every country came up with. And worse: these rules appeared to change by the minute.

While many fellow pilots working for passenger airlines have lost their jobs – we freighter pilots literally worked “our butt off”.

The sky wasn’t the limit anymore, flight time limitations were. Double legs, max duty – min rest patterns, being locked into small quarantine hotel rooms for days… the small boys’ dream job became a nerve wrecking experience.

Then, in summer 2021 the shipyard promised to have my boat finished and delivered to Hong Kong by the end of the year.

Unable to get to the boat due to the strict COVID-19 rules I figured that there were three very likely outcomes should a severe typhoon hit Hong Kong directly during the next storm season:

1. wife disappeared, boat still at the mooring
2. wife safe but boat disappeared
3. worst case: boat disappeared with wife

To prevent any of these misfortunes there were only two possibilities: moving back to Hong Kong or bringing the boat to Europe.

So I tried to negotiate with my employer about unpaid leave or a sabbatical year to pursue either of my two options. Maybe I was not persistent enough or my employer did not realize the urgency: all my requests were denied.

Long story short: I quit flying, at least temporarily, and started working on the boat in my Home Office – find out more about it in my blog “Home Office”.

Only time will tell whether my break from flying will be temporarily or permanent. But sure is: The fascination of flying and the interest in aviation technology remains in my heart!

Rita Harenberg

Born and raised in Hong Kong, I chose to become a flight attendant as I realized I do not want / can not spend 8 hours in front of a computer in an office environment every day.

Well invested time

There are many things worth spending time for to experience life: For example traveling! There is a Chinese proverb: It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand volumes of books. I do have a profound experience. Nothing compares with the journey on your own feet. 

Idol Drama

Like in an idol drama, I met my husband at a job opportunity. That made my life even more exciting: diving in Palau, camping in Africa, flying a small plane in the United States, traveling to Lake Baikal at -20 degrees, climbing Tiger Nest Temple in Bhutan, and achieving the sailing boat license in the Caribbean Sea…… The chapter of my adventure life is unstoppable since.

From the moment I met my husband I already knew that sailing around the world is his dream. Seeing him turning his dreams into reality I also witnessed that: Nothing in the world is too difficult for one who sets his mind to it! 

Life is a challenge, we are doing multiple-choice question every second. And now, I chose to take our mobile home to explore the world with my love.