The Biplane Was Kinda Fun

Today was biplane day, and the weather was just cooperative enough that I got to go up for a ride. It was fun. The plane never gets much above 80 mph, nor higher than 1,500 feet, but it's a good ride. 

The pilot starts down the runway and after a hundred or so yards hits 60 mph and the next thing you know you're in the air. Given we were flying from Boeing Field, there's not a whole lot of maneuvering they can do since you're sitting right in the major north-south avenue for plane traffic in Seattle. But he flew north past downtown and basically right up Highway 99 to about Lynnwood, then threw a U-turn out over the sound and headed back down to the field. It was very scenic. 

The only real maneuvers come at the end as the pilot flies south past the airfield, then quickly throws another U-turn, drops altitude like crazy, and the next thing you're on the ground. 

So now I can say I've done that. More important, I learned a crucial feature of the bucket list: It's not just a list of things you want to do before you die, but also a list of things you can do to distract yourself from the fact that you're dying. 

The biplane certainly fit that bill. It wasn't the most exciting ride in the world, but it was all new to me -- and so distracting enough that I could spend a half hour thinking about lots of things other than dying. 

So. all in all, a pretty good way to spend half-an hour. Plus I got a certificate... :-)