Then it happens. The plane turns onto the active runway. The engines spool up. The brakes release. We roll, slowly at first, but quickly we gain speed. Soon we reach V(R) and the nose pitches up. The bumpy ride down the runway ends as the main gear lifts off the pavement. A huge bank to the left while still climbing makes the plane feel like a roller coaster. At this point, I remember why I always loved to fly and why I love airplanes.
Granted, this isn't the most fun way to fly (commercially), but since I don't have a pilot's license, don't have access to a corporate jet, and don't own a classic warbird, this is the best I've got. And I love it anyway.
Things I saw that thrilled me on this flight:
- A summer squall moving into the city just as we take off
- Clouds above and below us as the same time
- The top of a business jet at a lower altitude as we crossed paths
- The bottom of an airliner at a higher altitude, loaded with people going in the opposite direction; and I wondered what their stories were and where they were going
- Cloud lightning as we skirted a line of thunderstorms
- A rift in the space-time continuum (okay, maybe not, but can't I imagine that for a few seconds?)
Possible rift in the space-time continuum? - The tops of clouds that looked like waves in the ocean
- A beautiful sunset that we chased for miles, which never really ended until we began our final descent
- Dark patches of our nation where there were few man-made lights until we flew over a town lit up and visible for miles around
- Long rivers of headlights as we made our final approach
I think too many people view flying commercial aviation as a nuisance. Maybe it is, but every time I take off, I think about that poem that begins "Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth." Regardless how commonplace commercial aviation may seem, I still think of flying as a privilege, not a right. I think about the "glamour days" of flying and what a thrill it was to greet an airplane's arrival, knowing this was a special treat.
I see flying as an adventure and I wish more people would, too. Then maybe, just maybe, we'd all have a better experience as we wait to grab our carry-on bags from the overhead bins; use the terminal's rest room that hasn't been cleaned since the morning; wait 20 minutes at the baggage carousel hoping all our bags arrived; get lost looking for the on-airport hotel because of the lack of signage; walk forever to the hotel because the one employee we could find said it was a short walk; and arrive safely in the lobby covered in sweat because the temperature is 92 degrees (with a heat index of 95) even though it's 10:12 p.m.
P.S. - It's now 5:49 a.m. and I can hear the beautiful sounds of engines whining as the day's movements begin. I wonder where they're going.
Here's a link to one of my favorite magazines, Airways, which has great articles on commercial aviation past and present. Another fun link is the Weather Channel's collection of photos called "Glamour in the Skies: Vintage Air Travel Photos."
