Ronald Hays has been flying for a while – over 3,000 hours in 18 years, from Alaska to Guatemala – but he says “the scariest departure ever was from our home airport.” This week’s Friday Photo shows why, as thick smoke from the Thomas fire in Southern California fills the air. It was a scary sight, but at least Hays was on his way to cleaner air.
The world’s largest fly-in starts next week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. To celebrate, this week’s Friday Photo shows a great scene from AirVenture 2017, as a 1944 Howard is parked beneath a deep blue sky that is punctuated by a skywriter’s “EAA script.” Happy Oshkosh week!
Florida is a pilot’s paradise, as Todd Sullivan’s photo shows here. He was flying a Cessna 182 on a beautiful day in February when he took this photo of the John Ringling Causeway Bridge, which connects Sarasota and the beaches. The best part is soaring above that traffic stuck on the bridge.
Long before 9/11 it was already prohibited to fly over the city centre of Dutch adminstrative residency The Hague. The royal palaces, the medieval court housing the parliament and senate are strictly forbidden to overfly below 3,000 ft AGL. To take pictures of the city I flew exactly along the border of the prohibited airspace.
This isn’t your everyday wing photo. One look at the aileron and the back of the underwing engine reveals this to be an antique Ford Trimotor. Rick Torres snapped this photo from a passenger seat in the iconic airliner, as he flew over the Salinas Valley in California.
Gary Travis has been flying for over 40 years, but he admits that “skies like this always take my breath away.” This picture was taken on one of his many flights in his Piper Dakota, which he often uses to share the beauty of flying with others. Sharing aviation and enjoying the view never get old.
There’s no better time to fly, as Tom Smith shows with this Friday Photo. He was in his Evektor Sportstar on his way to a safety seminar when he snapped this photo of the sun rising over the horizon. The high clouds are painted that magical shade of orange, and you can tell the air is perfectly smooth.
The best aerial photos combine a great scene, dramatic lighting, and an element of mystery. Vaughn Schultz has all three in this photo of the volcanic lava domes called the Sutter Buttes. A soft sunlight comes through the clouds and highlights the jagged edges of this unique area, as seen from a Cessna 172 XP.
November 11, 2017 was one of the nicest days of the year to be flying. The chilly air made for a smooth ride, and the early sunset cast a gorgeous light across the water. This was one of those days to turn the radio down low and just enjoy the view out the window.
We were heading from the mountains of Show Low, Arizona to the desert of Phoenix, Arizona for the day so Krista and I could spend the day with her son Casey. The trip would normally be a six plus hours round trip by car. However, being blessed and fortunate enough to fly, it is a 90-minute round trip allowing us to spend more time with Casey and still be home in time for dinner.
Dale Walton was flying his 1967 Cessna 150G at historic Minter field in Shafter, CA (MIT), an old World War II training base when he took this photo. As he says, “My first landing in the rain! No wind to speak of, but what a thrill it was watching the rain speed by my landing light in the wing Cessna. One of many more adventures to come. Shot with my iPhone 7+.”
I had been in Chicago on business the day before. It was a beautiful morning. Skies were mostly clear. Visibility was unlimited. Air was calm. Temperature was cool (it was late-September). Great day to fly. I had just departed O6C (Schaumburg Regional), about to head home. I decided to take a tour of downtown Chicago, from out over Lake Michigan.
After a nearly 30 year break, I finally had a mission: visiting and tending to my two oldest children who began attending a boarding school in Dillard, Georgia. My wife and two youngest children have now relocated to the area and I commute there on the weekends to be with them. I’m now treated to amazing views like this one, and a warm homecoming, nearly every weekend.
Flying with kids is always more fun than flying solo, and this photo is a great remind why. As Fernando Gonzales-Fisher says, “My grandson touches the window of a Mooney as if he is trying to touch the clouds. What is going through his young mind? We will never know; he will never remember. A moment I will never forget.”
It’s one of the best views any pilot can find, and Antonio Rodriguez shares a great picture of it in this Friday Photo: skimming along the top of the clouds at sunset. He was flying a Piper Archer II to Nebraska with family when he snapped this photo, which beautifully shows the soft colors of the sun on the clouds below.
Although I’ve been to Yosemite a number of times I have never overflown. My friend, plane owner, and pilot Mike has never been there so we took the opportunity. Later, when I was able to better view the pictures, I found that shooting through his windows somehow gave the pictures a black and white appearance.
Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate and you end up fogged in. As Steve Ellis found out, though, that doesn’t have to mean a trip to the airport is wasted. He took this misty photo of his RV-4 on the ground at on a trip to Vero Beach, Florida, which captures the early morning solitude of an airport – complete with a full moon overhead.
Fred Olson was flying from Osceola, Iowa to Harrison, Arkansas on a fairly dreary day when he saw a beautiful shaft of light breaking through the clouds and took this photo. It’s a reminder that aviation delivers stunning views even on cloudy days.
For Erich Gleckler, views like this are called “Magical Cub Moments.” The runway is in sight, the panel is basic, the sun is low – and the weekend is off to a great start. After learning to fly a J-3 from his father, moments like this come often for Erich, where the airplane opens up a view of nature that you just can’t find on the ground.
My wife and I love to explore the Southwest US in search of great hiking. Last year we made an impromptu trip to Sedona from our home base in Los Angeles. Our Mooney cut the 8-hour drive to a beautiful 2-hour flight, allowing us to easily make this trip over a weekend. We were treated to this perfect view on our departure, reminding us that we need to return soon.
