Ben was probably the most important person on our flight as the flight engineer. He was responsible for making sure the airplane was in good flying condition, no small feat on such a long mission. He was also the funniest guy on the crew and a source of endless entertainment during down-time. Ben was also pretty good with a camera and Terry enlisted him to film whenever he could, because Jannicke was usually busy with the care and feeding of the Wi-Fi system. He should have had an official credit as camera operator on this movie.

 

Ben was born and raised in the former East Germany, and one of the most poignant moments of One More Orbit was when Ben and Gennady were sitting with Terry and Hamish and they all realized that many years ago, Ben and Genna were in East Germany, on the “other” side of the Berlin wall, and Hamish and Terry were in the West. There they were, flying together as one crew, when decades prior Gennady and Terry were fighter pilots for opposite sides of the Cold War.

 

Ben and Terry have a few TV projects planned together. Fingers crossed. He lives in the UK with his family.