
Saba: The Dutch Caribbean island of Saba is just a teensy five square miles in area.

Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport: With a strip of asphalt just 1,300 feet long, Saba's airport runway is not much longer than an aircraft carrier.

Challenging: It takes an elite group of specially trained pilots to fly into the island, with Sint Maarten-based Winair the only airline operating scheduled flights in and out.

On board: The 15-minute flights from Sint Maarten are on 19-seater de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters, STOL (short takeoff and landing) utility aircraft.

Best seat in the house: Aviation fans looking for a pilot's eye view should squeeze in first to nab the hot seat -- 1B -- right at the front in the middle.

Keep calm: "Flying into Saba gets kind of hairy sometimes, but by knowing what to do, we make it look simple and calm," says Captain Robert Hodge.

Local pride: The runway appears on one of Saba's postage stamps, and the souvenir shop in the village of Windwardside sells T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, "I survived the Saba landing!".

Veteran aviator: "As a pilot I just love going into Saba because that's when you put your experience to work," says Hodge.

Adrenaline: "There's always adrenaline that kicks in because you're being watched by passengers and people on the ground, but you've just got to fly that machine," says Hodge.



