There’s nothing better than going back into the past, lose all track of land tracks and senses and feel carried away.
Human kind monopolized the sky for centuries to push the limits to go always further and higher. This air conquest rhymed by the technical innovation allowed us go from the ground to space in less than a century.
Between that, there are some passionate people, like Florian. From a pilot father, Florian always had his eyes up in the cloud since his childhood. The world map in his house basement is always up to date with a pinup that shows where his father is flying in the next few days. While his father is in control of the airliner, Florian had the time to take his Pilot’s certificate so he can take command as fast as possible.
This morning, we will furrow airways in Normandy on board of a Piper Cub from 1942, named “Lady cat”. Once we arrived in the hangar, the mix of oil smell and hot motors took us straight into the mood. Seeing this anthological machine made us think of all the pilots who already tried these crossings: Lindberg was the first to cross the Atlantic ocean, only 25 years before the old Piper sees the day.
The sky was grey that day on the Normand aerodrome, but the wind was calm and the flying conditions perfect.
After pouring a few litter of gasoline in the small plane tank, we’re heading to the only runway of the aerodrome. It was a perfunctory runway since it was a simple grass alley of a hundred meters long.
One last dashboard check up – with so many button controls. All it took was a revving for the magic to work… The violent vibrations due to the ground asperity fade away as the wheels left the floor. We’re taking off, and now up in the sky in a 500kg wood and canvas cage.
This 200 feet hovering made all the landscapes perspectives look different. The hugeness of the landscape is getting smaller after a few minutes in the air. We opened the window at 2000 feet to breath some fresh air. A deafening noise invaded the cockpit, but what a nice feeling to be able to get our head out at this high! The light is bright and intense. Florian wears his Nelson sunglasses to protect himself.
After 45 minutes of flight, we make a last hovering around the aerodrome to warn our landing before going down on the grass alley. A 45 minutes long trip back in the air conquest time.
