By Billy Davis

Santa Claus made his pre-Christmas scouting trip over North Mississippi earlier this week, a trip that included a stop in Batesville to purchase a pair of GE-manufactured jet engines for his two sleighs.

Santa toured the GE Aviation plant Tuesday, where he watched employees manufacture state-of-the-art composite materials for the GEnx jet engine.

After St. Nick received his ID badge, GE operations leader Glenn Parker led him on a tour of the new plant, reported a GE Aviation spokesman.  

Santa asked “such good questions, obviously wanting to understand how the engine and its components are manufactured and assembled,” recalled Parker.

“Yes, he left there very impressed,” said Santa spokesman Vinnie D. Elf, reached at the North Pole.

In fact, Santa purchased two new jet engines immediately after touring the plant, Vinnie also confirmed.

The pair of engines were immediately shipped overnight to the North Pole, where elves were installing them as late as Christmas Eve on Rudolph I and Rudolph II, Santa’s pair of Christmas sleighs.  

Rudolph I is used for Santa’s annual pre-Christmas reconnaissance trip in which he makes last-minute plans for boys and girls.

“We call Santa’s scouting trip The N-or-N, which is elf jargon for naughty or nice,” explained Vinnie. “It’s Santa’s last chance to see how the boys and girls are behaving just before Christmas Eve.”

Vinnie said Santa had visited Panola County for a last-minute check on the following children: Addison, Abigail, Ashunti, Brayden, Christopher, Daniel, Drew, Dylan, Ethan, Gavin, Haley, Hunter, Kentrell, Lakeria, Landon, Michael, Noah, Olivia, Paul, Presley, Reid, Trina, Tyler and Wesley.

Rudolph I is also used as a backup sleigh for the Christmas Eve sleigh, Rudolph II, in case Rudolph II encounters problems during Santa’s busy Christmas Eve trip. Santa was forced to switch sleighs in 2005 over Arkansas, when Rudolph II was peppered with buckshot.

Santa’s 2008 scouting trip in Rudolph I “plumb wore out the reindeer,” according to Bubba D. Elf, the reindeer caretaker. Hence Santa’s quest for a jet engine to complement the reindeer-powered sleigh.  

“Donner and all them other reindeer – they were dog-tired last year,” Bubba explained. “It’s a quick trip ‘round the world and then them reindeer hafta turn ‘round and do it again on Christmas Eve.”

So installing the GEnx jet engine on Rudolph I will provide backup power for the sleigh, thus ensuring that the reindeer are rested for the Christmas Eve trip.

“The plan is for Santa to engage the jet engine once an hour, for 15 minutes, to give the reindeer time to rest,” explained Dwight D. Elf, Santa’s assistant (to the) regional manager.

Panolian readers may recall that Rudolph I is the same sleigh that made an emergency landing in Batesville last year, when the sleigh collided with a building on the Downtown Square while Santa was flying in a thick fog.

Rudolph II, the Christmas Eve sleigh most often seen in movies and on Christmas cards, has also been improved with the addition of a GEnx jet engine.

Santa was “sold” by the jet engine’s composite materials, explained Jason D. Elf, chief of research and development for Santa Claus and a Mississippi State graduate.

“When we put pen to paper, and we saw the increased payload afforded by a lighter engine, it was a no-brainer,” he said.

Jason then described the engine’s “thrust range,” the “overall pressure ratio at maximum power,” and some more math which this reporter could not understand.

“Simply put, the lighter engine means less weight, which means Santa can haul more toys,” Jason further explained, which made a lot more sense than thrust ranges and pressure ratios.

Asked about Santa’s visit, GE plant leader Jeanne Edwards said St. Nick “was very impressed with what GE had provided and he looked forward to giving (the engines) a test run.”

Santa, during his final minutes at the plant, talked with employees and asked them to “leave only the best cookies and milk for him on Christmas Eve,” a GE spokesman said.

Meeting Santa Claus was a “life changing moment,” said GE employee Jean Dennistion.

“Santa knew a ton about our community, from our local schools to kids’ names,” said Dennistion. “I hope kids have been good. He’s definitely checking his list.”