Pete and Don took all of these.
Landing at the grass strip (it probably has some cooler name I don't know....)
Pete and me at the grass strip. I liked Pete - he really appreciated the views and experience. I've taken a few people flying that acted blasé about the experience - either because they really were unimpressed or because they were just too cool. On a day like this you'd have to be a zombie not to be impressed by the scenery, let alone the incredible fortune of being able to fly wherever you wanted in it. But Pete enjoyed it, didn't mind saying so and I really like that.
Pete wrote:
- Hey Dave, It's Pete Wiens here. Thanks for your blog post and coming out to meet Don and me. Enjoyed our visit at the landing sight out by Lake George. Don was very generous in taking me up for the whole afternoon. Then he says he told his nephew Dave and he is coming to meet us, like he is next door walking over for a drink, when in actuality these two guys are flying airplanes from miles apart to land somewhere they haven't really committed to yet. We will just look around and find a place. Wow, I am amazed and love this whole culture of flying in the wilderness. The freedom / challenge of landing anywhere you dare and the element of discovering something new on every heading. Just you and your machine flying around the magnificent beauty of nature meeting a friend. You spot a place to land, you make a pass to asses it. As your climbing and turning back around you decide you're landing. On final, still looking for warnings, the trees rise above your wings, the horizon meets your wheels and you are on, your struts take a few solid compressions, absorbing the uneven surface of natures landing sight. Brakes come on, you're slowed and safe. You wheel the airplane around, kill the engine, and step onto what was once only seen from afar. The engine noise stops, and the scenery going by at a 100 mph has decelerated to a slow gaze across a magnificent landscape. A slight breeze brings the smell of clean air. with each step I feel my foot's contact, as if tasting the earths sweetness. I think, So this is it, Alaska, flying, friends-- Words can't really describe it.
These were my perceptions.
Many Thanks Don and Dave. it was awesome.
Pete
Yeah, Yeah it's beautiful.... :-)
Posts
Hey Dave, It's Pete Wiens here. Thanks for your blog post and coming out to meet Don and me. Enjoyed our visit at the landing sight out by Lake George. Don was very generous in taking me up for the whole afternoon. Then he says he told his nephew Dave and he is coming to meet us, like he is next door walking over for a drink, when in actuality these two guys are flying airplanes from miles apart to land somewhere they haven't really committed to yet. We will just look around and find a place. Wow, I am amazed and love this whole culture of flying in the wilderness. The freedom / challenge of landing anywhere you dare and the element of discovering something new on every heading. Just you and your machine flying around the magnificent beauty of nature meeting a friend. You spot a place to land, you make a pass to asses it. As your climbing and turning back around you decide you're landing. On final, still looking for warnings, the trees rise above your wings, the horizon meets your wheels and you are on, your struts take a few solid compressions, absorbing the uneven surface of natures landing sight. Brakes come on, you're slowed and safe. You wheel the airplane around, kill the engine, and step onto what was once only seen from afar. The engine noise stops, and the scenery going by at a 100 mph has decelerated to a slow gaze across a magnificent landscape. A slight breeze brings the smell of clean air. with each step I feel my foot's contact, as if tasting the earths sweetness. I think, So this is it, Alaska, flying, friends-- Words can't really describe it.
ReplyDeleteThese were my perceptions.
Many Thanks Don and Dave. it was awesome.
Pete