Free as a bird
The flight was made possible by my friend and former coworker who texted me one day, asking if I wanted to get lunch in Paso Robles. That would normally be a 4 hour drive, but amazingly he has a pilot’s license and offered a more direct route! I’ve never been on a private plane before, so this was an amazing treat. One clear morning in late January, we met up at the Palo Alto airport… because where else would you fly out from:)
As I was driving to the airport, I wondered if I was putting myself into a high risk activity? Will I come home, or be on the news tonight? Then I remembered the many emergencies at our job, and our trusty pilot would always steer us to a soft landing. Of course, those emergencies were network problems and crashing servers, however there are many striking similarities.
After some pre-flight checks and starting up the engine, we were off to a few thousand feet up in the air and onwards through the California central valley. It took only a few minutes to leave the Bay Area and be among the coastal hills and hypnotized by the mostly rectangular crop fields. I also learned that some airports don’t have staffed ATC. That means the pilots coordinate over the radio for the use of the runway, which we did at Paso Robles.
We had a hearty lunch at the airport cafe, and talked about planes, work and retirement. Good thing we loaded up on chow, because we decided to hike over to the Estrella Warbirds Museum. By hike, let’s just say that even small airports are kind of big on foot. However, it was totally worth checking out some old fighter jets in remarkable condition. Sadly, when it was time to head home, we had a very smooth flight and landing back at Palo Alto. My take away is that it’s less scary than you would think to fly in a Cessna, especially if you know and trust the pilot. In fact, the flight was actually quite peaceful and Zen. I was reminded of riding my bike up many of mountain passes to feel a connection outdoors and to be rewarded with some beautiful landscapes. While this flight was on a rented plane, next time I think it will be in his own personal plane. It’s great to have lofty goals!