My Little Sister is Cool

I got to go flying yesterday - something I love to do. Heights normally give me the willies but I love being in an aircraft, however big or small. The thing that made it truly extraordinary, though, was the fact that the person performing the safety demonstration, radioing the tower, winding at the trim and just keeping the thing in the air was my baby sister, Lauren. I'm so proud! I knew the first time I simulated a stall I wasn't pilot material (I passed out!), so my respect for her achievements knows no bounds : )

We hired a Cessna 172 (a four-seater) from Lauren's flying club and went for a joy flight out over Moreton Bay, along the coast, around the Glasshouse Mountains and back to the city over Samford. It was perfect weather to be in the air - beautifully smooth and clear, despite a bit of early haze, and we weren't the only ones to be taking advantage of it. By the time we left the Archerfield circuit was pretty full, and the radio was alive wtih MBZ calls from parachuters, helicopters, surf patrols and other hacks like us just up for a ride. I was amazed, as always, how neat the Earth looks from the air, and I gave thanks again that I have grown up in such a green little pocket of the universe. (Mind you, you realise this city has a LOT of swimming pools!)

And just when I was convinced that all pilots must be as cool and professional as my little sis, as we were coming in to land we heard this reply to a request for takeoff clearance:

TOWER: Clear for takeoff, runway 28 right...and, by the way, you've left your keys in the cabin door.

Pilots are people too!

PHOTOS BELOW...