A qualified pilot, Mohammad Reza was fascinated with flying and the technical details of aeroplanes, and any insult to him was always an attempt to “clip my wings”. Mohammad Reza directed more money to the Imperial Air Force than any branch of the armed forces, and his favourite uniform was that of the Marshal of the Imperial Iranian Air Force. Zonis wrote that Mohammad Reza’s obsession with flying reflected an Icarus complex, also known as “ascensionism”, a form of narcissism based on “a craving for unsolicited attention and admiration” and the “wish to overcome gravity, to stand erect, to grow tall … to leap or swing into the air, to climb, to rise, to fly.”