Santa's Check Ride


Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal
Aviation Administration, and it was shortly before Christmas when the FAA
examiner arrived.

In preparation, Santa had the elves wash the sled and bathe all the
reindeer.  Santa got his logbook out and made sure all his paperwork was
in order.

The examiner walks slowly around the sled.  He checks the reindeer
harnesses, the landing gear, and Rudolf's nose.  He painstakingly
reviews Santa's weight-and-balance calcula-tions for the sled's enormous
payload.

Finally, they were ready for the check ride.  Santa got in and fastened
his seat belt and shoulder harness and checked the compass.  Then the
examiner hopped in carrying, to Santa's surprise, a shotgun.

"What's that for," asked Santa, incredulously.

The examiner winked and said, "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but
you're going to lose an engine on takeoff."