Commentary, musings, Photography

Flying Anyone?

33 Comments

I found this airplane stuck to a pole …

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It’s one of the types I learned to fly, back when I was in my salad days.

It made me a bit sad to see it there, poised as if in flight but stuck, permanently roosted and rooted to the ground, a facsimile of its former self. Not a good place for an airplane to be.

People can be stuck too. They look like they’re going somewhere but they’re not. Straining forward but frozen, seeing but sightless.

Airplanes are meant to fly.

So are we all.

Happy New Year, everyone. Good wishes for 2019. 🙂

33 thoughts on “Flying Anyone?”

  1. Great photo, Lynette, and love the associations which you made.

    It would be cool to have that in the garden, can you imagine it being used as a roost for birds.

    Best wishes for 2019!!! 😀

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    1. I found it a little sad.

      “Salad days” is another way of referring to when I was a young, green sprout. I’m kind of wilty and tough now. 🙂

      Happy New Year to you also – I wish you good things for 2019. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ve seen a number of these mounted aircraft around and about. This one somehow seemed more poignant – the angle suggests that it’s in motion, which is exactly what it can’t do any more.

      Happy New Year to you as well – good wishes for 2019. 🙂

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  5. Great picture. Happy New Year to you as well. I took flying lessons in a similar aircraft as well. A Cessna 150. It was so under powered that when the instructor was trying to teach me stalls, he couldn’t get the nose up high enough to make it stall. We were both over 6′ and about 200 lbs. It was a little nose heavy. 🙂 I was moved to a Cessna 172 on the next lesson. It was a lot more fun.

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    1. Thank you. 🙂

      Hahaha! 🙂 Cessna 150s are really bad for that. I didn’t know you’re a pilot (or did I forget that???). Do you still fly? It’s always a pleasure to know that I’m not alone in my obsession!

      I didn’t spend much time in 150s and mostly rented them for touch and goes – they were a lot cheaper than the 172s for that. They kind of always reminded me of the old VWs – a tin can with four wheels and a lawnmower inside. Actually, there’s not much difference between those two engines!

      My favourite small plane is the Piper Archer – always loved them. 🙂

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      1. I was a few hours short of the time requirement to get my license and we moved from YYC to YYJ and I never completed it. One of the things I regret. I was given an opportunity to train on a Piper Arrow but when the flight instructor told me she also liked rope burns, I decided that the Cessna was a better choice. Apparently the Piper was prone to flat spins. The Piper Archer is a great aircraft. I’ve only flown in them as a passenger a couple of times. Your description of the 150 is spot on. 👍☺️ I am a bit of an aircraft fanatic. My Instagram follows are most aviation related. A friend of mine is an Air Canada 777 and 787 pilot. We have some great discussions.

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        1. Life can get the way on some of these things, can’t it? In good ways and less-than-ideal ways.

          I’ve flown Arrows and Senecas and Seminoles, and also right seat in a Citation. Tomahawks are prone to flat spins (and spins in general) but I don’t think there are many of them left. Pipers with their low wings are not good spin material and yup, can be real touchy. I still like them though.

          Cessnas are very forgiving of all kinds of stupid stuff. Many years ago when I was practising touch and goes (at Villeneuve just NW of Edmonton!) on solo in a 172, I started a take-off roll with 30° of flap. At about 50 ft agl, I remember thinking, why is this airplane dragging like an old tired dog? I broke into a sweat when I realised that I still had all that flap. Forgiving? That’s Cessna. 🙂

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      1. I think progress is always slower than we expect. I have seen it in the online community. Just as life begins to take off again issues almost always seem to crop up. I am sorry you still go through this. I usually find there is eventually a blessing which follows a struggle. I try to remember that when I am in the midst of a struggle.

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    1. Thank you. 🙂 “Salad days” is another way of saying “youth.” One time, I was a young green shoot with lots of time ahead of me. Now I’m kind of wilted and curled up around the edges. 😉

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