May 2014 An Intimate View of America, From Above – NYTimes.com
Stop whatever you’re doing right now and read this article by Deborah Fallows from the New York Times, An Intimate View of America, From Above! It’s the best….THE VERY BEST article about flying I’ve read in recent memory.
An aerial view of the Columbus, MS area. Raymond McCrea Jones for The New York Times.
As pilots, with the flip of a switch (or a prop), we have the ability to see the world from a perspective few others do. Writer Deborah Fallows recognizes and appreciates the amazing world that’s at our fingertips. She isn’t a pilot herself and both she and her pilot-husband are relative newbies to the world of general aviation flying. She’s not new to writing though and brings a welcome fresh viewpoint to what many of us have come to take for granted.
“In this plane, we can go anywhere — anywhere — with no ticket, no permission, no plans. The skies are free with a few reasonable caveats.”
It doesn’t matter if we’re flying a taildragger or a nosedragger. It doesn’t matter if we circle the globe in our little birds or never wander far from home. As pilots, we have the awesome ability to participate in the spectacle of flight and observe the world like few others can.
Seldom have I read a better article about general aviation flying that so well encapsulates what we do and what we see. Read on!
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