19 thoughts on “My favourite time of day

  1. Thought you and Sandy’s hubby might enjoy this:

    Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth (1),
    And danced (2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;
    Sunward I’ve climbed (3) and joined the tumbling mirth (4)
    Of sun-split clouds (5) — and done a hundred things (6)
    You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung (7)
    High in the sunlit silence (8). Hov’ring there (9)
    I’ve chased the shouting wind (10) along and flung
    My eager craft through footless halls of air (11).
    Up, up the long delirious (12), burning blue
    I’ve topped the wind-swept heights (13) with easy grace,
    Where never lark, or even eagle (14) flew;
    And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
    The high untrespassed sanctity of space (15),
    Put out my hand (16), and touched the face of God.

    TRANSPORT CANADA NOTES:

    1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before aircraft taxi or flight is attempted.
    2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seat belts fastened. Crew should wear shoulder belts as provided.
    3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.
    4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.
    5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.
    6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Transport Canada inspectors.
    7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.
    8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.
    9. “Hov’ring there” will constitue a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent; helicopters excluded.
    10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.
    11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.
    12. Should any crew member or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report upon flight termination.
    13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.
    14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the Transport Canada and the appropriate aircraft maintenace facility.
    15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain IFR regardless of meteorlogical conditions and visibility.
    16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure.
    paco is offline

  2. Lol, hopefully he’s making room for Shattered Sky and Border Watch as Wings of Fear with its new cover! (Maybe I should buy them all and give them away as prizes!!)

  3. Sounds like a horrible night, Cathy. Hope the Doctors can give Bett some relief…

    You need a Mac – then it doesn’t hurt so much that Bill’s a billionaire!

  4. Re my earlier: try it in fog at around 1500 in a bloody valley in a Beaver in British Columbia, and I wonder why my hair is going white? Was a wheeled Beaver BTW. Not to fond of float type amphibs. I reckon you lose to much performance, plus the wheels are generally lousy on a lot of real “bush” strips. That’s whgere you need hokin’ big low pressure Tundra tyres!

  5. OT I HATE computers sometimes, mine has beeen hinky for a week and threw a major tantie last night. I finally restored it (at 4AM–couldn’t sleep–Bett got some bad news from the Doc–kidneys look like they are starting to fail plus BP way too low 104/58)

    Finally ended up restoring it from a system image made before Xmas! Just finshed putting thee last of FSX back on (I have to install NZ tomorrow) and nbow defragging.

    —And Bill Gates is a multi BILLIONAIRE? 🙁

  6. Cathy, I really think you need to be writing about your flying experiences. That’s a lovely description and I smiled when I read it as it’s exactly what I think.

    And, lol, I did wonder what you were doing scrub running at 800′!!

  7. I used to love the sunrise at altitude, still can capture that in FS. The sense that you are up above it all, while down below among the lights tired night workers are looking forward to going home. Day workers are going–reluctantly in many cases to work. There you are at 800 feet, watching the first rays of a new dawn, and you think “they PAY me for this?”

  8. Ah, sunrise by the sea has as much magic as sunset by the sea. The good thing about sunrise is that there is usually fewer people about! 🙂

    Lucky you to have that at your doorstep. Colour me green. 🙂

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