Santa's Annual Flight Check
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  Santa Claus, like all pilots, gets regular visits from the Federal
Aviation Administration, and the FAA examiner arrived last week for
the pre-Christmas flight check.

  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.  He knew they would examine all his equipment and truly
put Santa's flying skills to the test...

  The examiner walked slowly around the sled.  He checked the reindeer
harnesses, the landing gear, and Rudolf's nose.  He painstakingly
reviewed Santa's weight and balance calculations for sled's enormous
payload.

  Finally, they were ready for the checkride.  Santa got in and
fastened his seatbelt 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
ahead of time," as he leaned over to whisper in Santa's ear, "but
you're gonna lose an engine on takeoff."