* * * * * At the start of February 1987, I was sitting in the cockpit at Nellis early one morning, awaiting our passengers’ arrival, when a Key Air stewardess popped in and asked if we wanted coffee. We both declined, and as she left, she casually said, “Hey, guys, I hear Presidential is going to close down its Miami base.” The captain and I exchanged blank looks. This was news to us, dear reader, and made very little sense, as this was one of Presidential’s more important and lucrative routes. Initially I disregarded this piece of intelligence as idle Key Air gossip. Later I reconsidered its source – remembering how “pillow talk” always gives a stewardess the inside track on what’s actually going down. Re...