* * * * Flag of The Maldives. At 120 nautical miles out from Malé International Airport, we were handed off by Colombo ATC to Malé Approach Control. Contacting them on one of our VHF Radios, at frequency 119.7, they gave us the following: Weather and visibility clear, wind from the northwest at 10 knots, the local altimeter setting, and that they were using Runway Three Six (360°/180° magnetic, North/South). The Republic of Maldives consists of 1,192 islands, of which 192 are inhabited with a population of 300,000. These islands lay within a double chain of atolls running north to south, encompassing an area of 35,000 square miles. It’s the smallest Asian nation, and the lowest, having an average height of four feet and eleven inches above sea level. The Maldives from Space. Note, dear reader:...