IT'S NOTHING like swimming with the dolphins, but earlier this month, Richard Blanchet had his own unique animal experience -- flying with the rhinos.
Blanchet, a Belleville resident, was the captain of an Atlas Air Boeing 747 that carried three adult rhinoceroses from Melbourne to Brisbane, Australia.
"It was strange even by my standards," said Blanchet, who said he is used to ferrying around other animals.
How did he get the honor? The animals were ready to go, and he was around and ready to work.
"I was available," he said. "They came in and asked, 'Who wants to go pre-flight this one?'"
He said that type of transfer is rare and drew a lot of media attention in Australia. Apparently it is better for the animals to travel by air than on the ground.
"Boy, are they big. I was told it took approximately a year to train them just to go into the shipping containers," he said. "They really only were visible through the top of the container. They didn't want them to see."
Despite the potential for disaster, Blanchet said the two-hour flight was uneventful. The rhinos were the only cargo, and they were very well behaved.
"They said temperature control and smoothness were important," he said.
Just in case something happened, besides the flight crew, the plane carried a loadmaster, a veterinarian and an animal trainer.
Blanchet said he has been flying for Atlas for 14 years, nearly as long as the company has been in existence. He is a former military pilot as are many of the company's pilots.
"You probably never hear of us because we carry cargo for other airlines," he said. "But there probably are 15 pilots who live around here who fly for them."
He said Atlas does a lot of animal charters.
"It's normal for me to fly a load of horses from New York to Australia," he said.
Wally Spiers' column runs five days a week. Have a column idea? Call Wally at 239-2506 or (800) 642-3878; or e-mail: wspiers@bnd.com
