Because I Fly

Because I Fly

Because I fly,
I laugh more than other men.
I look up and see more than they,
I know how the clouds feel...
What it's like to have the blue in my lap;
to look down on birds;
to feel freedom in a thing called a stick.

Who but I can slice between God's billowed legs
and feel them laugh and crash with His step?
Who else has seen the unclimbed peaks?
The rainbow's secret...
The real reason birds sing...

Because I fly, I envy no man on earth.

--Anonymous

Rattlesnake Bomber Base

Rattlesnake Bomber Base, Pyote, Texas.

If you know where to look, you can find remnants of extraordinary times. Rattlesnake is one such place, and a while back I flew in to pay a visit. It was an eerie time-warp of an experience, with lots of ghosts and swirling half-memories I’d inherited from years of reading WWII books.

As I walked through the hangar, now roofless, and looked out across the vast, weed-studded ramp, I marveled at the events that took place here. In 1943, this place teemed with life and activity. Boys fresh out of high school, tasked with no less than saving the world, trained and flew in B-17s and B-29s. They came to this remote base to begin their defining adventure, and you can still feel the tension and excitement in the air.

The facility is derelict now. Mother Nature is slowly but efficiently reclaiming all signs of it. I’m glad I live at a time when historic locations like this can still be found and studied.

I took off and made one fast pass down the runway, then a “duster turn” back to overfly the base, wagging my wings in salute. I imagined a hundred faces upturned, surprised to see a man in a garish, red-white-and-blue Citabria rocketing across their 1943 sky.

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Flirtation

"Flirtation"
Copyright 2006 V1VrV2

Maybe we've evolved too far, too fast. Mankind has learned how to create powerful machines -- devices that thrust us with seemingly unlimited ease into the sky, where we are able to freely cavort, soar, dip and turn at will. Commercial air travel, by contrast, provides us with reliable transport, without care and without import. It's routine and sedate, because "routine and sedate" sells tickets.

But pilots are constantly reminded how small and insignificant we appear in our travels through the vast ocean of sky above. We flirt with, but do not touch, massive storms whose power and scale escape accurate description. We see the perfection of nature in all its many forms. We see sunsets and sunrises unlike any down below. We see sights of such beauty that we cannot speak of them fully, even to each other. In the air, the components of light, color and form become art without even trying. We gaze in awe at these sights, and we hope our passengers are also watching. We know from experience that most are not.

The next time you fly as a passenger, leave your window shade open and let the scenery wash over you for a while. You may be surprised what aerial sightseeing does for your outlook on life.

Lenticulation 2

This textbook set of lenticular clouds east of Denver explains why local police departments were swamped with UFO reports on this particular afternoon. I took this shot from the crew van on the way to the hotel. This photo was taken facing north, and the previous photo (below) was taken facing south.

Lenticulation

A dramatic stacked-lenticular (lens-shaped) cloud formation hovers over Denver. Clouds along the Front Range of the Rockies seem to be more vibrant and eccentric than most other places I've been. More lenticular cloud photos coming soon!

Wavy Contrail

Sometimes the air surprises us with its capriciousness. This contrail, left by a westbound 757 at our altitude and just a few minutes ahead, began rippling like this as we watched it. Ordinarily, I'd think we would experience some turbulence in the vicinity of a sight like this, but on this day the air was a smooth as glass.

The Finger of God

"The Finger of God"
Copyright 2006 V1VrV2

This roiling band of clouds near Denver seems to point the direction one should fly to escape the wrath of the fully-delveloped thunderstorm beyond. The rain shafts underneath this cloud formation were bright red on the radar, indication their extreme intensity.