I'm a Jet Setter
My niece went off to college this week. Well... one of my nieces. I have 11.
Anyways, this niece has chosen to go to the college I graduated from many moons ago! When I found that out, I told her that I'd love to go up and help them move her in if she wanted me to. How could she tell me no?!?! :)
It just so happened when we had that conversation, my uncle was there. My uncle who has his pilot's license AND a single engine four-seater plane!! He made the offer to fly us up there. How fun is that?!?! Normally, it's a two and a half hour drive. Flying it takes around 55 minutes. SOO, we set it all up, then prayed for nice clear weather on that day. And after a week of dreary rainy days, we got our sun on the day we needed it!
We had to be at the airfield at 8:00, which meant I had to pick up my niece around 7:30 or so. I ended up spending the night before at my sister's house (the one who was keeping my girls). We didn't even get there till after 9 that night because I'd had a meeting at church till after 8. It was after midnight before I got to bed then my nephew was watching TV in the other room so I kept getting woke up. Finally begged him to turn it off around 2:30. Got up around 6:00, left around seven. Got to my other sister's and they weren't completely ready (5 people, one bathroom) but we ended up making it on time.
My uncle was already there checking the weather radar to make sure we were good to go. It showed there might be a storm coming through later that day so he wanted to be sure he had time to fly up and fly back before that happened. We drove down to his hanger and he got the plane out. LOL... he was able to pull it by a rope! 1500 pounds on wheels!
I have to admit, I was a tiny bit nervous but looking forward to it too. The only times I've ever flown have been commercial flights so this little Piper plane was a new experience for me. My nieces were just a bit more nervous than I was. By 8:30 that morning, we were in the air. My sister, my brother in law, and my nephew drove up in the van with all of her stuff. We actually looked for them once we were airborne but didn't end up seeing them.
My uncle talked us through the whole flight, pointing out our straight line flight path. We wore headsets so we could hear each other talk over the engine roar. My nieces were so cute in the backseat.... pointing out all the lakes, pools, football fields, houses, etc, etc, etc. They got over their nervousness pretty quickly once we were flying. It was a pretty smooth ride, except the landing which was a bit bumpy. We flew right over the highway!
In what seemed like no time at all, we arrived at our destination. The college has a TINY TINY airfield behind the football stadium where we landed. My uncle hung out with us for a few then we hitched a ride about halfway to campus and walked the rest of the way. We had planned for my sister to pick us up at the airport.... but that was nixed when her stuff filled every spare crevice in the van. So, even though we arrived to the town in style, we arrived to campus on foot. I took a few pictures of the flight (did you expect anything less?!?!). Here are a couple below...
Anyways, this niece has chosen to go to the college I graduated from many moons ago! When I found that out, I told her that I'd love to go up and help them move her in if she wanted me to. How could she tell me no?!?! :)
It just so happened when we had that conversation, my uncle was there. My uncle who has his pilot's license AND a single engine four-seater plane!! He made the offer to fly us up there. How fun is that?!?! Normally, it's a two and a half hour drive. Flying it takes around 55 minutes. SOO, we set it all up, then prayed for nice clear weather on that day. And after a week of dreary rainy days, we got our sun on the day we needed it!
We had to be at the airfield at 8:00, which meant I had to pick up my niece around 7:30 or so. I ended up spending the night before at my sister's house (the one who was keeping my girls). We didn't even get there till after 9 that night because I'd had a meeting at church till after 8. It was after midnight before I got to bed then my nephew was watching TV in the other room so I kept getting woke up. Finally begged him to turn it off around 2:30. Got up around 6:00, left around seven. Got to my other sister's and they weren't completely ready (5 people, one bathroom) but we ended up making it on time.
My uncle was already there checking the weather radar to make sure we were good to go. It showed there might be a storm coming through later that day so he wanted to be sure he had time to fly up and fly back before that happened. We drove down to his hanger and he got the plane out. LOL... he was able to pull it by a rope! 1500 pounds on wheels!
I have to admit, I was a tiny bit nervous but looking forward to it too. The only times I've ever flown have been commercial flights so this little Piper plane was a new experience for me. My nieces were just a bit more nervous than I was. By 8:30 that morning, we were in the air. My sister, my brother in law, and my nephew drove up in the van with all of her stuff. We actually looked for them once we were airborne but didn't end up seeing them.
My uncle talked us through the whole flight, pointing out our straight line flight path. We wore headsets so we could hear each other talk over the engine roar. My nieces were so cute in the backseat.... pointing out all the lakes, pools, football fields, houses, etc, etc, etc. They got over their nervousness pretty quickly once we were flying. It was a pretty smooth ride, except the landing which was a bit bumpy. We flew right over the highway!
In what seemed like no time at all, we arrived at our destination. The college has a TINY TINY airfield behind the football stadium where we landed. My uncle hung out with us for a few then we hitched a ride about halfway to campus and walked the rest of the way. We had planned for my sister to pick us up at the airport.... but that was nixed when her stuff filled every spare crevice in the van. So, even though we arrived to the town in style, we arrived to campus on foot. I took a few pictures of the flight (did you expect anything less?!?!). Here are a couple below...
My niece started class today. I've been trying to remember back to when I first went to college.... stayed tuned for a college days blog.... :)
posted by Anonymous at 11:05 PM
5 Comments:
Oh my gosh, I get so scared on those tiny planes! Looks like you had a great flight though.
i used to date a guy, many years ago, that flew one of those tiny planes, it was scary but exciting at the same time. i'm moving my daughter into her "school house" next week, not sure who is more excited about her going;)
you are a better woman than me no way would you get me on that little plane...:)
Great aerial shots. I'm always looking for a new aerial photgrapher to shoot photos of the projects my company builds.
I'm with the others - those little planes scare me. You're a brave woman. It does look fun though.
How cool!!! Do you think your uncle would fly you up here for a visit?
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