KD in CA Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) Hard to beat flying right over Manhattan at night. Although the coolest thing I ever flew over was the Verrazano-Narrows bridge 5 minutes before the start of the NYC marathon, at about 1200 feet in a Cessna. Edited August 3, 2017 by KD in CA
Just Jack Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Lightning in the clouds. It was at night so you'd see the cloud light up every few seconds.
boyst Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) And the bolded part is what my brain immediately picked upyep Edited August 3, 2017 by Boyst62
Marv's Neighbor Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Landed at Washington National DCA a couple of times, at night, on the 4th of July. Great fireworks! Flew the river approach, landing to the S.
Azalin Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 The coolest thing by far for me was coming in from over the Atlantic and seeing the morning sun rising over the mountains in Portugal. The orange light shone like beams through the peaks. It was indescribable, really. Honorable mentions would be watching a sky-writer from far above, as well as flying high over a fireworks display.
sherpa Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 (edited) I may not be the one to answer this the same as most since I flew Navy attack and fighter airplanes, then 32 years in my airline career on the 727, 757, 767 and 777, but... In the Navy, flying low level training missions at 100' and 420 knots all over the west coast and Philippines. Seeing the carrier after a long mission with relatively low fuel. Getting to 50,000' and seeing the curvature of the earth. Blowing up a drone over the Pacific with a Sidewinder missile. The joy of flying wing. In the airlines, watching the sun come up over the European continent every trip east. Flying down the length of Italy on the way into Rome. Watching the Southern Cross rotate about the South Pole every night on the way to Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo. Watching the Space Shuttle fly just after launch. Flying down the west side of the Andes, just over the Pacific and descending into Santiago, Chile. The entire approach and landing into La Paz Bolivia at over 13000' airport altitude. Seeing countless demonstrations of the northern lights while sitting in the darkened cockpit. Flying over Northern Alaska and the North Pole on the way to Tokyo or Beijing. Just knowing you'd have the best view in the world every night. Edited August 3, 2017 by sherpa
LI_Bills Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 I may not be the one to answer this the same as most since I flew Navy attack and fighter airplanes, then 32 years in my airline career on the 727, 757, 767 and 777, but... In the Navy, flying low level training missions at 100' and 420 knots all over the west coast and Philippines. Seeing the carrier after a long mission with relatively low fuel. Getting to 50,000' and seeing the curvature of the earth. Blowing up a drone over the Pacific with a Sidewinder missile. The joy of flying wing. In the airlines, watching the sun come up over the European continent every trip east. Flying down the length of Italy on the way into Rome. Watching the Southern Cross rotate about the South Pole every night on the way to Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo. Watching the Space Shuttle fly just after launch. Flying down the west side of the Andes, just over the Pacific and descending into Santiago, Chile. The entire approach and landing into La Paz Bolivia at over 13000' airport altitude. Seeing countless demonstrations of the northern lights while sitting in the darkened cockpit. Flying over Northern Alaska and the North Pole on the way to Tokyo or Beijing. Just knowing you'd have the best view in the world every night. Gentleman we have a winner.
Andrew Son Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Gentleman we have a winner. I vote for boobies
WhoTom Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Lightning. At night. Close second: plenzmd1's wife's boobies.
row_33 Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Not from the plane, but I was on a major Canadian highway moving slowly at rush hour and saw a very large craft leave the runway and try to stop along a large stretch where there was nothing but a chain fence between the highway and the plane. Fortunately it stopped in the fence and nobody was seriously hurt.
Johnny Hammersticks Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Flying over the Alaska (Denali) range on the way from SEA/TAC to Fairbanks.
Richmond_Bills Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 Manhattan, including the twin towers about 8:15 a.m. on 9/11/01. I landed at Boston Logan about 10 minutes before the hijacked jets took off from there. I remember how clear it was vividly and thought it was really cool to be flying over NYC. Craziest day of my life.
Dr. Fong Posted August 4, 2017 Posted August 4, 2017 Alaska when there's daylight is always impressive. One moment that sticks with me is flying over a stretch of the Pacific and just barely being able to make out a solitary container ship making its way across the ocean. Gave me a real appreciation for the scale of everything I was seeing.
gomper Posted August 4, 2017 Posted August 4, 2017 Flying into Charlotte as night fell on the 4th of July was fun. Fireworks everywhere below. Also flying out to San Francisco and chasing the sunset the whole way. Great flight.
sherpa Posted August 4, 2017 Posted August 4, 2017 I forgot to mention the one thing I wish I could show everyone. St Elmo's fire extending from the radome over the windscreen. It is truly an unbelievable thing to watch. I guess it would scare the heck out of people, but it is truly cool.
frostbitmic Posted August 5, 2017 Posted August 5, 2017 The Turquoise water of the Caribbean Flying over Cuba when it was still forbidden Flying from NYC to Rochester and going over the Finger Lakes
Recommended Posts