Top Gun and the 56 Pounds

On fun occasions when pilots and Beach Boy sailors get together, some of the stories that take off can soar as well as anything launched from Hollywood.

Many aviators and pilots are attracted to sailing, as many sailors are interested in airplanes. A sailboat after all, is a primitive type of aircraft. There is only one wing in sailing however, and that wing is vertical, but the rudder on an aircraft and the aerodynamics of air moving over wings and sails is the same. Spare parts for foreign sailboats however are much easier to come by than restricted airplane parts from countries that like to keep secrets.

As the world today is very much impressed with the latest Top Gun Maverick film, and jet fighters are fueling the imaginations of every one of all ages, our episode this week begins with an Arab-American pilot who became a smuggler and a spy.

Years before the Top Gun films were the rage, and the cold war with Russia was in full swing, top leaders of the American military decided it would be a very good idea to secretly acquire a few of the very best Russian jet fighters. Testing and flying these “acquired” jet fighters would reveal all the aviation secrets of the potential enemy airplanes and teach American pilots what they might be up against in aerial combat.

France and the United States manufacture and sell jet fighters to other countries in the world. Russia also builds and sells jet fighters. Normally, the countries that buy French and American airplanes are friendly to France or the U.S., and the nations that buy Russian aircraft are allies with Russia. This has been the way of the world for many years, but after a few jet fighter aircraft eventually crossed borders and ended up on opposite political sides, top-secret information is revealed as the foreign airplanes fly on almost endless training missions. 

Eventually however, the foreign and potentially enemy aircraft need replacement parts and spare parts for Russian MIG fighters are not for sale to U.S. allies. This is where Ali enters the story. Ali was born in Iraq with a Christian family. He and his family fled their homeland because of the tyranny and aggression of Saddam Hussein but when he came to America and joined the armed forces, his knowledge of modern jet fighters was perfect. His Arabic from his native land was also perfect. When it came time to buy spare parts for the Russian MIG fighters that were the training aircraft in America, Ali set up a deal via email with some enterprising new friends in Syria. It seemed the Syrians would be able to fill Ali’s shopping list of rare aircraft parts, but there was one condition. The Syrians wanted one million dollars for the trade and they wanted the money in cash.

After viewing many photographs of a Russian airbase in Syria, Ali and his superiors were convinced the trade was possible but also dangerous. When Ali was convinced, the coveted Russian parts were ready and waiting, he flew into Cypress with an Arab-American woman who was also a Christian but dressed like a Muslim. Together the couple, who were pretending to be husband and wife, boarded a very old cargo ship bound for Beirut Lebanon. After the 145-mile journey by sea, Ali and his “wife” slipped off the ship and into the city of Beirut under cover of darkness. Sneaking down into the old city was not easy or comfortable, because Ali was carrying a backpack that weighed 56 pounds. Because the Syrians wanted cash, Ali’s rugged and well-worn backpack contained one million dollars in U.S. currency. One million in cash weighs 56 pounds.

With the sunrise lighting the eastern sky and the call for Morning Prayer echoing through the ancient city, Ali and the woman pretending to be his wife hired a taxi and were dropped off at an inn near the Syrian border. After midnight, the two smugglers with one million in U.S. cash crossed the dangerous border with smiles and a bribe and made contact with a Syrian air force mechanic and a Russian soldier on the outskirts of Damascus. The Russian dressed as an Arab, was driving a large flatbed truck that was loaded with an old Lamborghini tractor, some rusting and dented toolboxes, and a leaking diesel fuel tank. The Syrian air force mechanic was following the Russian flatbed closely with an antique Mercedes that looked even older than the truck and the tractor. 

After meeting with their fellow conspirators, Ali and his “wife” never questioned the oil-dripping fuel tank or the greasy toolboxes on either side of the Italian tractor. Everyone knew that to look for the stolen aircraft parts in the carefully arranged disguise would show a disturbing lack of trust and would certainly be a mistake on the side of a busy roadway. After a handshake and the exchange of the 56 pounds of U.S. cash for the idling flatbed was complete, Ali offered to do the deal again if the MIG parts proved worthwhile. The two men dressed as farm hands agreed, and with the eastern sky beginning to brighten again, the Russian and the Syrian tossed Ali’s backpack into the battered Mercedes and began driving back to the Russian airbase in Syria.

For the next several hours, Ali and his “wife” nervously drove the old flatbed with the tractor over the dusty backroads of Syria. The Arab Americans made the border crossing into another Middle Eastern country - a country that Ali did not want mentioned - and soon the old flatbed truck, the Lamborghini tractor with the toolboxes and the leaky fuel tank were all on a transport plane back to the United States. All the Russian jet fighter spare parts were well hidden and in perfect condition.

After his tale of espionage, Ali explained on a sailing excursion in the water off Marco, “Sailboats certainly are like airplanes, but the spare parts must be a lot easier to buy!”