Most of us have a bucket list.
Mine should more or less read “go everywhere and do everything.”
That’s a slight exaggeration as skydiving and swimming with sharks aren’t on the list but it has become important to me that I try as many different things as possible.
One item on my list is to take a ride in an old fashioned biplane like the barnstormers use. You know the kind – it’s open air?
This is sort of an interesting goal for a gal who’s afraid of heights but I’m determined to not allow my fears to hold me back. That’s been the theme of the last year and a half and it has served me well in all areas of life but one.
I had the opportunity to take a ride earlier this month but chickened out and have regretted it ever since. So when I learned that biplane rides are being offered at a nearby airport this weekend, it became clear that it’s time to face the fear and check this item off my bucket list.
I’m wavering somewhere between excitement and terror but am trying hard to embrace the pure joy of anticipation.
I’m sort of an old soul and have a deep appreciation for old cars, trains, trucks and planes. There’s something romantic about these old biplanes and the tradition of barnstorming.
The plane pictured above is the one I’ll be riding in. It’s a 1929! How cool is that? This is the sort of bird you would normally see in a museum and I’ll be flying high above the earth in it in a few days!
What do you think? Would you take this ride? What’s on your bucket list?
Make the Journey Fun 
I think it’d be way cool! I might do it, though hot air balloons are more my speed these days. Have fun!
I will! Thanks! And a hot air balloon ride is on my list too. 🙂
OK….Having been a pilot on F-111F deep interdiction aircraft I don’t recommend a hot-air balloon ride as the pilot has VERY little control of the balloon, aside from controlling the ascent and descent. You are basically at the mercy of the wind. A long standing pilot’s rule: “Winds aloft are not the same as winds on the ground”. Personally I’d steer clear of balloons and flex-wing aircraft. OK, so I’m a control freak!! Shoot me….just remember
…any landing you can walk away from is a good landing!
Ha! That’s a good rule of thumb! I like the idea of walking away after my flight!
You bet I would!! A couple of years ago my wife, Patricia, gave me a special birthday gift of a ride in a WWII Navy SNJ (the USAAF low wing trainer) used as an intermediate fighter trainer. IT WAS GREAT!!!!! It shook, rattled, and rolled down the runway and finally rotated and we were airborne!! What a RUSH!!! Flew all around the airfield and then out over the surrounding countryside. The flight lasted only 20 minutes but I got a taste of what it was like to be a WWII pilot trainee. Would I do it again??
IN A HEARTBEAT!!!
Do it Girl!!! You won’t regret it!!
What a terrific gift! It sounds like you had a blast! I hear that my pilot is really good so I’m not worried about anything except my fear of heights. I’ve been up in small aircraft before and did fine. Once I even did a helicopter ride without a door so I could shoot aerial photos and I survived that! Lol. Looking forward to this!
Coolness! You’ll have a blast!~ Guaranteed! AFTER you’re strapped in nice and secure-like, ask the pilot to do a barrel roll !!!!!
Lol. That sounds like a terrible idea Jerry! I feel like you’re going to be a bad influence!!
How cool!
I’ll be sure to write all about it so check back! 😉
🙂