Sightseeing Airplane Ride  (August 16, 2003)

(Click on any of the thumbnails below to view the full-sized photo.)

On August 16, 2003, Devrim and I decided to fly on a small airplane to see what it was like.  We arranged with a flight instructor to take us up.

Pictures of the airport ...

At the Troy/Oakland airport, they were launching those aerial signs that drag behind the airplane to be visible for the Woodward Dream Cruise.  The launching procedure was fairly complex:  a plane takes off, circles around, and then flies low to snag the sign to be dragged.  The plane in the photo below is picking up his sign.

This is the fuel truck coming out to refuel the airplane.

This is Devrim examining the window to figure out how to close it ...

This is Devrim with the flight instructor, Mr. Mack Goodwin.  Mack is 72 years old, a great pilot, and still teaching flying.  We went on something between an instructional flight and a sightseeing flight.  Mack explained everything he was doing to Devrim.  Below Devrim and Mack are going through the preflight checklist, which involved checking controls and radios and throttling up the engine to watch for anomalies.

We've made it through the preflight checklist and are pulling out onto the runway ...

This is the takeoff roll.  Warp 9, Mr. Sulu !!! ...

And aloft we are ...

The picture below was taken by me (a bit late) after I realized that we were flying near Wayne State University.  The approximate center of the picture is Warren and the Lodge Freeway, and one can see the Deroy Apartments, the Engineering Building, and several other University buildings.

... the Renaissance Center ...

... and other stuff that I can't identify ...

... this is the instrument panel of the plane ...

... this is Mack giving Devrim instructions on how to control the plane.  Devrim was able to turn the plane, climb, descend, etc. 

More flight pictures ...

And then we got to land ... Mack describes landing as the hardest part of flying.  In his descriptions, he made it sound simple, but it did not look too simple to me ...

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