flying again

There was military maneuvering scheduled "throughout the Highlands," according to Scottish Information and the NOTAMS ["NOtices To AirMen"], snowclouds over Aberdeen, and a little corridor of clear, empty sky over the snow-covered Cairngorms in between the clouds and the fast jets and parachutes. I flew due north from Perth for twenty minutes at 5,500 feet, nothing below me but snow-covered glen and mountain and forest.

The sense of accomplishment is fantastic. I'd never flown so high on my own, mostly because it's never clear enough. The typical cloudbase keeps you at a maximum of about 3000 feet. Consequently I've never flown over the mountains, at least not by myself.

In pilot terms it's a modest accomplishment. But today, as I pulled on long underwear and woolly socks, I realized I have come to a new perspective on my flight preparations. You know how you always worry about an engine failure in flight, and how you'll manage to survive it? Today, really for the first time, I realized that I was more worried about surviving the conditions on the ground in the Cairngorms than in surviving the forced landing.

Another first for me is the pictures, which I am proud to say I took myself, and yes, I was flying the plane too.

( snowy scotland )

There are more here.

I just love flying over snow.

...I am flying
over mountain and meadow and glen
and I like it so well
that for all I can tell
I may never come down again

I may never come down to earth again