T’was the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
\nNot an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
\nThe aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,
\nIn hopes that — come morning — they all would be there.<\/p>\n
The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
\nWith gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
\nI slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
\nAnd settled down comfortably, resting my butt.<\/p>\n
When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
\nI turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
\nA voice clearly heard over static and snow,
\nCalled for clearance to land at the airport below.<\/p>\n
He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
\nI’d have sworn that the call sign he used was “St. Nick.”
\nI ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
\nThe better to welcome this magical flight.<\/p>\n
He called his position, no room for denial,
\n“St. Nicholas One, turnin’ left onto final.”
\nAnd what to my wondering eyes should appear,
\nBut a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!<\/p>\n
With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
\nAs he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
\n“Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
\nOn Comet! On Cupid!” What pills was he takin’?<\/p>\n
While controllers were sittin’, and scratchin’ their heads,
\nThey phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
\nThe message they left was both urgent and dour:
\n“When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower.”<\/p>\n
He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
\nThen I heard, “Left at Charlie,” and “Taxi to parking.”
\nHe slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh,
\nAnd stopped on the ramp with a “Ho, ho-ho-ho…”<\/p>\n
He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
\nI ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
\nHis red helmet and goggles were covered with frost,
\nAnd his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.<\/p>\n
His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
\nAnd he puffed on a pipe, but he didn’t inhale.
\nHis cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
\nHis boots were as black as a cropduster’s belly.<\/p>\n
He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
\nAnd he asked me to “fill it, with hundred low-lead.”
\nHe came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
\nI knew he was anxious for drainin’ the sump.<\/p>\n
I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
\nAnd I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
\nHe came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
\nThen he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.<\/p>\n
And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
\nThese reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
\nHe completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
\nThen he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, “Clear!”<\/p>\n
And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
\nHe called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
\n“Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
\nTurn right three-two-zero at pilot’s discretion”<\/p>\n
He sped down the runway, the bestof the best,
\n“Your traffic’s a Grumman, inbound from the west.”
\nThen I heard him proclaim, as he climbed through the night,
\n“Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight.”<\/p>\n
“Never run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas at the same time”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T’was the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp, Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ. The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care, In hopes that — come morning — they all would be there. The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots, With gusts from two-forty at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p95FsX-dh","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2173,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/twas-the-night-before-christmas-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":0},"title":"Twas The Night Before Christmas – Collection","date":"December 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is a collection of \"Twas The Night Before Christmas\" updated December 27 2025.\u00a0 The original is below. Here's one for our Flight Attendants. Twas the night before Christmas was originally \"A Visit from St. Nicholas\".\u00a0 Click here to read about the origins of the poem. For the automotive enthusiasts:\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/car2-300x260.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6814,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2022\/12\/twas-the-night-before-christmas-realtor-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":1},"title":"Twas the night before Christmas Realtor Style","date":"December 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, only Realtors were stirring. And, of course, a mouse.The contracts were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that the closings soon would be there.The buyers were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of homeownership danced in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2171,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/twas-the-night-before-christmas-for-the-mechanic\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":2},"title":"Twas the Night Before Christmas – for the mechanic","date":"December 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Twas the night before Christmas, And all through the shop, Nothing was stirring, not even the mop. The stockings were hung over the workbench with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. The tools were all clean and snug in their beds, While visions of 'Made in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":192,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2010\/12\/twas-the-night-before-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":3},"title":"Twas the night before Christmas","date":"December 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Courtesy Aircraft Website \u2013 http:\/\/www.courtesyaircraft.com\/ 'Twas the night before Christmas all over the place, When we were confronted by an old flying ace. There was icing reported and turbulent air , He said, \"File me a flight plan, I gotta get there\". Outside sat his aircraft all ready\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6804,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2022\/12\/twas-the-night-before-christmas-hotel-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":4},"title":"Twas the night before Christmas Hotel Style","date":"December 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Twas the night before Christmas, and all through hotel. Not a creature was stirring except for the Kitchen staff. They are preparing for the Christmas brunch that is tomorrow after all.The stockings were hung by Housekeeping with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;The children were nestled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8960,"url":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/2024\/12\/the-night-before-christmas-for-the-flight-attendants\/","url_meta":{"origin":823,"position":5},"title":"The Night Before Christmas for the Flight Attendants","date":"December 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the gate, many Customers were stirring, especially those who were late.The Passengers boarded and sat in their chairs, in hopes to nap briefly, wake up, and be there.The Flight Attendants shared their safety instructions, while parents took care to strap in their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Newsletters"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions\/826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flymall.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}