From the Editor
The plane landed an hour ago, but my feet are still not touching the ground. I’m on Cloud 9!
Today I had the opportunity to fly with the Full Throttle Formation Team, one of the flight performance teams flying in the Atlantic City Airshow.
I must admit, I was a little scared. However, I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I did it anyway. It was an unforgettable experience and the views were better than I could have ever imagined.
Full Throttle Formation Team is the largest precision formation airshow team in America. They fly Van’s Aircraft, an experimental aircraft, many of which were built by the pilots who fly them.
The planes are very small, even smaller than my car. I was shocked. It reminded me of the plane Snoopy flew in Charles Shultz’ comics.
My pilot, Doug “Hollywood” Hallman, described it as the “Corvette of planes.” I climbed in, shoulder to shoulder with him as I secured my harness.
As we were waiting for takeoff the USAF Thunderbirds zoomed by, heading for a practice run over Atlantic City. Wow!
Upon takeoff, we headed for the coastline. I could see clusters of homes and tried to identify my neighborhood from this new perspective.
The plane dipped and turned in synchrony with the others. I looked straight ahead in an effort to keep myself calm and fight off bouts of nausea.
There were five other planes in our formation and it astounded me how close the planes were to one another. I could see their wings in every direction. It was similar to five cars on a highway, but all flying at 1,700 feet in the air amongst fluffy, white clouds.
The speed, sights and sounds sent my senses into overload. I have to admit that maintaining my composure and trying to capture photos and video of the experience was a hard balancing act for me.
The best advice I got preflight came from photographer Donald Kravitz, who had flight experience during his years in the military. “Do not eat or drink beforehand.”
That advice saved me on more than one occasion throughout my 30-minute flight.
When we landed I put my feet back on the ground. Two of the pilots said, “She’s got that smile, like she’s hooked.”
They are right. I want to do it again and again. Seeing the world from that vantage point was life changing.
Fear, excitement and exhilaration wrestled in my mind throughout my flight. Exhilaration won. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Peace & Love,
Cindy
2 Responses
Wow Cindy! Your exhilaration was captured by your readership. What an awesome experience – hope you get to do it again, again and again!
Thank you so much Brenda!