For my recent birthday Penny decided to give me a gift of experience in the form of a flight over California Wine Country. Vintage Aircraft at Schellville Airport offers rides on a number of vintage aircraft including biplanes, a T-6 Texan Trainer, P-40 Warhawk and even a P-51 Mustang.
Penny and me after our flight
In part because I thought the flight would be more enjoyable sharing it with Penny I opted for the 1942 Stearman open cockpit biplane, which allowed for side by side seating in the front cockpit. That plane is almost as old as my Dad!
Our flight took us over southern Sonoma and a good deal of Marin counties. We had the pleasure of flying over numerous vineyards, Sausalito, getting close to the Golden Gate Bridge, flying just under the peak of Mount Tamalpais, catching glimpses of wild deer darting over ridge tops and even circling over our house.
Our pilot, Chris, provided a silky smooth flight and to our great surprise the landing was perhaps the smoothest touchdown we’d encountered on any flight in a plane of any size. Acrobatics are an option for flights here, but we opted for a more sedate outing this time around.
Great fun and a wonderful way to start the day. We may have to pick another milestone in the future for a return visit.
This paper makes it official!