Taking Wing: Stories

Flying Adventures and Places to See

Pilots all have flying stories. Some begin with “There I was…” followed by a tale of daring in which the speaker overcomes all odds to make a dangerous situation into a success. Others are more benign and tell of the joy of a first flight — a pilot’s own or that of a friend. Still others focus on the joy of travel.

Indeed, one of the great things about flying is going places. Even at a slow 110 KT (127 MPH), it’s amazing how flying cuts travel time, especially when crossing mountainous areas or water. For example, one year while living in western Massachusetts and flying out of Ellington, CT (7B9), my wife and I celebrated our anniversary by having lunch on Nantucket Island (ACK) and dinner on Martha’s Vineyard (MVY). We were home before dark. Typically, just one of these islands is a automobile-ferry trip that would take at least 7 hours each way. Total round trip time in a Cessna 172? 3.3 hours.

Some short, some long, here are some adventures that we and others have had when Taking Wing.

We hope to make this section of Midlife Flight a place to tell your stories and read others. If you’d like to contribute, please contact me. All submissions will remain your property. We only ask your permission to print them here.