High wing airplanes make for great picture frames. In this Friday Photo, the sun sets over the Olympic Mountains as Steve Phoenix cruises along in his Piper Pacer. The sun is framed between the struts, while the light bounces off the water of Puget Sound below. Peaceful, beautiful, and exactly what makes flying so rewarding.
Flying an open cockpit airplane versus a cabin airplane is like the difference between a car and a motorcycle, but without the traffic. There is a sense of oneness with the machine and the environment. A small, single-place, open cockpit airplane accentuates that even more.
From time to time, the FAA changes the qualifications for a license or rating and even adds a new designation of pilot. Steve Phoenix has made a study of the pilot population and gives here his recommendation for a new category of instrument pilots.