My Magnificent Friends and Their Flying Machine

I was so wiped out last night after I got the pictures posted that I just went to bed without posting any text. The opportunity to fly in this little plane literally came out of the blue. I went to my ex-father-in-law's 90th birthday party. (Yes, my ex-husband & I have been divorced for years & years, but we're still family.)

A couple friends of the family came up for the party in their WWII bi-plane. When the party was over and my ex was taking them back out to the airstrip, he asked if we'd all like to go out & see the plane. I love planes, trains, motorcycles, etc., so I went out to see it. After we all got out there, they asked if anyone would like to go up in it before they left. A couple of people said yes, but I was thinking there was no way in hell I'd be able to get up into it. There's no stairs or ladder - you just have to climb up on the wing, then pull yourself over the side into the cockpit.

My ex-sister-in-law went first, and after they left I looked around and saw the flimsiest folding chair I have ever seen next to the little concrete block hut which is the terminal building. I drug that out and sat on it until they got back. My ex-brother-in-law went next, so he could take his father home, who is the biggest birthday Scrooge in the world.

I went next. With the chair and the help of my friends, I got into the plane. It was the most awesome experience! I'm so glad I decided to go for it. As you can see from the pictures below, it's an open cockpit, so the wind just rushes into your face. My lips are still chapped & sore from grinning into the wind.

My friend who flew the plane (from the backseat) had me put my fingers on the edge of the windscreen and then push my hands up so that they were deflecting the wind above the screen. Just doing that makes the plane go up and down. It definitely teaches you not to stick your arms over your head and wave them all about! Anyway, it was a an absolutely gorgeous day, and an incredible experience. I never in a million years would have thought that morning that I'd be flying over the countryside in an open plane that afternoon. What a marvelous day.