It's All About My Boys: High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Jason took Luke and I flying today! It was our first time flying with Jason. Also our first time flying in a little sessna (Luke and I, not Jason). It was amazing!! I was really excited when we got to the airport. I was surprised how little the airplane was. No, I wasn't expecting a 747 type plane. I knew what he flew was small but it was really small! I'm thankful I'm not claustrophobic or afraid of heights.

We flew out of a small municipal airport about 30 minutes away from home. It's not in San Antonio. We could fly out of SA int'l airport, however we'd spend all of our time on the runway so there wouldn't be any point taking off form there. Plus we don't have clearance to fly in SA. We couldn't fly over the city, it's a different class of airspace than we're allowed in. Basically, there's so much air traffic ... big passenger planes and such ... we'd end up in their way and probably get sucked into their engines.

We put Luke in the back seat behind me. We buckled him in the same way we would in the car. No problems at all. When we got back and talked to the owner he said that if a child can fit on someones lap with the seat belt fastened it's fine, they don't have to be in some sort of car seat.

I sat up front next to Jason. The weight in the plane has to be pretty equal, it would have been unbalanced had I sat next to Luke. I waited while Jason did the preflight check and made sure the plane was ready to go. Jason talked with the tower and we were given permission to take off. Jason only had one pair of headphones so Luke and I put little squishy earplugs in. Luke didn't seem to mind. It was a little hard for Jason and I to hear each other. The plugs started to bother me after a while.

It was so beautiful! Everything was so green and hilly and there were tons of tree's and a river. It was a little bumpy during the flight but that was to be expected. I don't mind it. It makes me feel like I'm on a roller coaster. Luke fell asleep about 5 minutes into the flight. Jason flew over Canyon Lake. It was really pretty. There were a lot of boats out.

After about 20 minutes I started feeling sick. I didn't mind the flying, I loved it actually and wanted to stay up but I could smell the fuel and it was pretty warm and humid. Normally Jason could have gone up to 4-5 thousand feet (where the air is a lot cooler) but today there were A LOT of scattered clouds and Jason flys VFR (Visual Flight Rules) and it would be VERY dangerous to fly through clouds. A giant passenger plane could have been flying exactly where we were and, needless to say, that would not be good. So, Jason stayed at 3,000 where the air is almost the same temp's as the ground. It was late morning so, thankfully, not as hot as mid-afternoon! There are two little vents at the top of the windshield to let air in. We turned around to go back. I just stared straight ahead. I had turned around a few times to check on Luke and that made me dizzy. I was glad when we started to descend. I was trying not to throw up.

I'm looking forward to flying again! I'll take cold water and something to munch on. I had water but it was warm and unappetizing. Other than being warm and not liking the smell I had a great time. It was fun to look down on earth. I felt really safe and secure in the plane. I now have a better understanding of the poem above! I am so so proud of Jason. He is an amazing pilot. I sure am lucky to have such a wonderful husband!