My pal and former colleague James is a pilot, and he had offered to take me up on a flight sometime, should our schedules align. Since my time is a bit more flexible at the moment because of my sabbatical from work, I went through and met him on the East Coast for a jump from Fife to Prestwick.
Here is the wee beauty of a plane that we flew over. It is apparently from the 60s, and felt like being in a vintage car… souped up with modern electronics, including WiFi. I can barely get WiFi on a British Airways flight.
The cockpit was awesome.
The view was amazing, and reminded me of just how green Scotland is.
We got permission from air traffic control to divert over the Forth and have a look at the famous bridges.
This was pretty surreal.
I also never realised just how many castles and castle-like buildings litter the countryside.
We did a loop over James’s house, which was pretty cool to see from the air.
We also flew over Whitelee Wind Farm, which was pretty amazing to see.
Flying through a cloud was pretty bizarre.
The take-off and landing was the smoothest I’ve ever experienced, which I was surprised about. I expected a smaller plane to have a much more obvious bump… but it was really just like being in a car, in the sky. What was weirder was just strolling out of Prestwick Airport through some side gate.
I could never be a pilot, but it was a pretty amazing experience. Thanks James!
Here’s the flight path we took, from flightradar:
It is always amazing (and reassuring!) to see how much green space is left when viewed from the sky. I’m curious about why many of these photos have a pink/purple tinge, especially at the edges?
Hey Dan! Thank you. I was surprised at how much green there was as well actually… Scotland is pretty amazing. The purple fringe is because I was using a Voigtlander 15mm lens on my digital camera that was originally designed for film bodies. I’m not sure of the technical reason for the colour shift, but that’s why! You can remove it in post-production, but I don’t actually mind it, so never bother.
Hi Steve, yes it gives a unique look to the photos, I was just curious what caused it. I wouldn’t bother removing it either!