A prop and spinner will lead me…
…into skies wide and blue
….into canyons of cumulous.
…into a sea of air.
Leonardo da Vinci says it all, “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
That statement, at least for me, is so absolutely true. When weeks or months go by without flying, the sky seems to beckon to me - sometimes urgently. I’ll see a small airplane overhead and a chord is struck deep inside me. It’s hard to describe.
The most basic interpretation of this peculiar relationship with the heavens is that flying is something fairly unique that I am able to do. It is challenging at times, even scary. But for the most part, it’s just incredible.
There I am - like today - zooming along at over 100 miles per hour 2,500 feet above the earth. Bumps here and there remind me how that calm sky - from the ground - is really an ocean of air. Like the sea, it’s alive with currents and waves. Despite its often static appearance, pilots are well aware of just how dynamic the sky really is.
The flight today was outstanding. Three great landings and a little formation flying with a Great Egret to boot (I came up from behind him at a pretty good clip and when we saw each other I lifted my nose a little and he dove down - what a neat image in my mind of that Great Egret actually turning its head to look back at me - I swear he did!).
What an adventure. An adventure and an experience that I can’t wait to share with my daughter Sara. That will be a magical day to remember…
