I took my wifey up with me today as I chased VOR beacons and simulated engine failures over gorge farmland. She sat in the back of the plane and took plenty of pictures. She also wrote about it on her blog. Check out her post and pictures here: http://littleredhen.hawkinwinter.com/?p=631
What Could be Better than Flying?
Earlier today I was cruising over the Columbia River Gorge at 2500′ MSL. Clouds were sparse and the winds were blowing out of the west at about 10 knots. Both Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood were well lit by the morning sun and clearly visible. The water sparkled below us and the green fields of the Hood River Valley seemed to glow. What a perfect day for flying. Noticing this, my flight instructor started the following (mildly paraphrased) conversation:
Flight Instructor: Isn’t flying great? What can you think of that’s better?
Me: Flying is incredible, true. In fact, I can think of one thing and one thing only that’s better ;)
Flight Instructor: (laughing out loud) Yeah, you’re right about that!
Me: …and, you know, that says a lot about flying!
Piloting a light aircraft is one of the most amazing, incredible, and memorable things one can do. I highly recommend it!
Flying Over the Columbia River Gorge
Flying over the gorge is far more beautiful than driving along it! Here are some photos I took while flying a Cessna 172 over the Columbia River – Mt. Hood is in the distance. Mt. Adams was covered by clouds.
What I Learned Today…
… that the founder of the “mile high club” was also the inventor of the autopilot. LOL! I guess necessity really is the mother of invention.