Wartime Skies

When people ask me about flying, I don't always know what to say.  There is so much to know when it comes to military flying.  Our rules and regulations are so much that to carry all the publications on board would require recomputing both the weight and balance as well as the performance data.  Long and frequent deployments away from home is hard both on the family and my own morale.

That said, as a tac airlifter, I help keep the air bridge going.  That means there are less convoys needed to keep our ground troops (the real heros) supplied with more beans, bullets, and boots.  When I'm carrying a plane full of Marines or Soldiers (who have spent a year or longer defending freedom for a country that is not their own) home, it puts a smile on my face...and theirs.  Those days...I love flying. 

The other times I love flying have nothing to do with the mission.  Although I hate taking off just before sunset and flying until after sunrise, those days often rewarded with beatiful Kodak moments.  Sunsets are my favorite.  Of course, I've heard professional photographers say that anyone can take a picture of a sunset, but there's not a lot of people who get the chance to take a photo of one from 20,000 feet in the air.  Those are great days.  Days in which you thank God just for being alive to see it. 

Storms clouds are no fun to fly through, but dodging cumulonimbus is always exciting and usually quite beautiful when you're really close to it.  Photos don't always caputre the wonder though.  When you pass right next to a could and can watch the tops billow and roll as you fly by, that's a magical moment. 

Life is too short to just be a pilot, but when the day comes when I hang up my wings, I'll miss the sunsets and cloud chasing that I've come to enjoy.

-MB
mabrooks.com