Since the days of the Wright brothers people have been putting their lives in the hands of physics and trusting the principles of lift and thrust to carry them safely above the earth. More power to them for figuring out how to properly construct a wing so that it would catch the wind just right to lift a giant piece of machinery off the earth. This concept is even more astonishing when you board a jumbo jet and come the the realization that the giant whale of a vessel you are now sitting in is about to be lifted off the ground and float as though weightless, through the air. No wonder people are so afraid to fly, the concept seems purely preposterous. None-the-less I have taken my fair share of flights never thinking twice about the science behind it or the sheer inconceivability of it all. That all changed when I boarded a flight in a small single engine prop plane piloted by my handy-dandy brother-in-law Chris.
As he went through his pre-flight checks, and ensured that everything on the plane was in proper order, I went through my pre-flight checks to make sure all of Chris's credentials were in proper order. Most importantly, how good is he at gliding in if we find ourselves without an engine. Truthfully, I knew Chris knew what he was doing, and I knew where I would be going if he didn't, so I really wasn't that worried. I was more worried about how my ear was going to react to the pressure change and how my stomach was going to react to, well, everything.
We piled in (like sardines in a can), fueled up, and taxied out to the runway. No going back now. A quick rev of the engine and we were off. Up, up and away. I was actually surprised at how quickly we were in the air. We did a little tour around the bay, up over the boardwalk and back, then over Watsonville for a circle over the house then back in for a smooth landing.
We were up in the air for about half and hour. I am proud to report that my defective ear canal behaved itself (due mostly in part to a genius invention called Earplanes) and my overly sensitive stomach was relatively well behaved (thank goodness that circle over the house was at the end of the flight!) As it turns out flying in a small plane is not all that much different from a big commercial flight. You definitely feel more of a sensation of floating in a small plane, but with that you also feel more of a sensation of air sickness (at least if you're me you do.) As for in-flight amenities, the leg room was pretty comparable, but I found the beverage service and a snack choices to be a bit lacking on my privately chartered excursion.
Now that I've said my peace I have a little confession to make. I kind of cheated a little. My first flight was actually made yesterday overlapping two of my new things into one day. But the way I figure it, it's my game so I make the rules. However, for those nay-sayers out there that are calling foul (and I admit, deep down I am one of them) here are a few new experiences from my drive back to Santa Ana. I saw a unicycle strapped on to a bike rack. I heard someone order 22 Big Macs at McDonalds (boy am I glad I got my order in before that bus load of Asian tourists!) I saw a Delorean (you know, the car from Back to the Future) on a tow truck (that one was for you Michael, and it was a nice one too!) And finally, the pièce de résistance. As I peered in my rear view mirror I saw Daddy Warbucks cruising up rather quickly in his convertible Maserati. I did the responsible thing and got back into the slow lane to let him pass. As they sped by me his female companion in the passenger seat turned towards me and held up a yellow happy face on a stick with the word THANKS written in big bold letter (as if to excuse their excessive speed.) I started cracking up and said to myself, "Now that's a first!"
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