Posted by On Saturday morning, my company, Flying M Air, was due to appear at the annual Buckeye Air Fair, a wonderful family event at the Buckeye Municipal Airport. I’d been asked to offer helicopter rides there for the fourth year in a row and I really looked forward to the event.
Unfortunately, our flight from Wickenburg was delayed by fog! As anyone who lives in the desert can tell you, fog is a very uncommon weather phenomena here. In fact, I don’t think we get fog more than once or twice a year — if at all.
After a false start, we took off for a second time and headed south to Buckeye. I climbed up through a clear patch of sky and, at 3200 feet — that’s about 800 feet higher than the airport elevation — popped up over the clouds. Below us, the clouds formed a puffy blanket of white, with plenty of “holes” where we could see the ground. Above us, the sky was perfectly clear and blue. And around us were the peaks of nearby mountains. The scene was absolutely breathtaking and it reminded me of how pilots are lucky to see things that folks on the ground can’t experience.
My husband, Mike, took this photo of Vulture Peak as we flew past its west side. This shot looks northeast. Downtown Wickenburg is shrouded by clouds.
I’ll be adding this photo to the random images that appear in this blog’s header soon.
And, in case you’re wondering, I had the pleasure of taking 81 men, women, and children for helicopter rides in Buckeye that day — more than half of whom went for their first-ever ride!
Last 5 posts by Maria Langer
- What's Blooming Now: Hedgehog Cactus - April 11th, 2010
- What's Blooming Now: Mexican Gold Poppies - April 7th, 2010
- Mexican Earthquake Felt in Wickenburg - April 4th, 2010
- Water Under the [New] Bridge - January 22nd, 2010
- Pardon Our Appearance - January 4th, 2010
Dear Maria: How are your efforts to curtail development off of the approach end of Rwy 23 going? Can I assist in any way?
Thank you, Holly