The crowds packed into Easton Airport before the sun rose on Saturday for the 4th annual Easton Airport Day, and cars lined up along the side of Airport Drive. The Great Chesapeake Balloon Race, scheduled to take off just after sunrise, drew a lot of interest.
Everyone was disappointed when high winds prevented the balloons from taking off. The balloon crews did inflate the giant globes, and the crowd was able to appreciate their beauty. A few crews climbed inside the baskets, and floated above the ground before one by one, they gathered their teams of ten to deflate, drop, roll and pack up the balloons for another day.
Easton Airport Day is a real community treat – a fun family event that is free and gets anyone who’s interested up close and next to airplanes. It’s a terrific way for adults and kids to catch the fever, and see what flying is really all about.
Barry Gillman and Hunter Harris invited me to join the Easton Airport Day VIPS – a tour for special donors to this year’s event beneficiary – the Critchlow Adkins Children’s Center (CACC) Scholarship Fund.
Airport Day VIPS were treated to a number of special events. Led by certified flight instructor and aviation enthusiast Barry Gillman, we toured the aircraft in the show, and learned about general aviation issues. We were invited to sit in one of the large hangars for the pilots’ briefing before the flying formation and the annual rubber chicken drop. It was fascinating to listen as the pilots were briefed the pilots on the route, the plan, and how they were to line up in squads of four, for a flight to St. Michaels and Georgetown, DE, in close formation.
When 20 airplanes are taking off rapid fire right after one another, the rules of the day are obviously different than normal. Each squad of four were basically on their own, with all other airport traffic on hold. A powerpoint presentation was clear and focused. Our VIP group listened and watched intently as the pilots called out their sequence, asked relevant questions, and picked up their numbered rubber chickens, but we really didn’t understand much of their discussion. Here’s a peek at one slide of that presentation.
(The VIPS agreed that, although we didn’t really understand what it meant, at 110 miles per hour, the instructions “do not get sucked” sounded like some pretty good advice.) The VIP group was served lunch, and then driven around the tarmac for the best seats of the day, to watch the skydivers, the flying formation and the rubber chicken drop. We ended the day with a tour of the control tower.
A crowd favorite was when Hunter Harris took up a load of parachuting Chick-fil-A cows, with chicken sandwich coupons inside. Kids raced from one end of the airport to another to capture them. The winds made this tricker than usual, but plenty of kids scored cows.
When Hunter Harris said that he had a special treat for The Talbot Spy, I had an idea that it might include a chance to go up in the air. What I didn’t expect is that I’d get to go up in one of the most stunning airplanes in the entire event – a 1945 Boeing A75 L300 “Stearman” bi plane – the yellow beauty that sat out front, surrounded by admirers all day long. The plane’s owner, Craig Nelson, offered to let Hunter take the plane up.
Hunter H. Harris is a 6th generation Eastern Shore resident and a local legend. An FAA certified commercial pilot licensed to fly all categories of aircraft, including airplanes, seaplanes, gliders, jets, helicopters and blimps. He has spent a lifetime flying, and currently operates a Cessna Cardinal and a vintage J3 cub out of the Easton airport.
His business, Aloft Aerial Photography, uses all manner of photography, video and other technology to record anything on the ground from the air, including GIS data and monitoring of large construction projects. He’s currently working with students at Washington College to teach them how to use aerial photography and video, while the students teach him about social media and web marketing. Together, they’re creating a film about the Chester River using the GIS technology along with aerial video to showcase the river and its challenges.
We climbed into the plane right in the center of the crowd, and two assistants pushed us out onto the tarmac. The event announcer directed attention to us, and a crowd gathered, taking photos. This is when I realized that there was no turning back. I was in that plane and I was going up.
Wanting to fly above the Bay for years, I’ve been plotting and making friends with pilots, trying every trick in the book to get up above Delmarva. I’m a map lover, a birder, and a Google Earth aficionado. In autumn, when the geese fly above, I project myself up in their midst, and consider the view they have, whether they’re flying over Eastern Bay or the Choptank River. You could say that I’m flight-minded.
But we all know that just because you want something, doesn’t mean that you’re ready when it lands in your lap. Honestly, as I climbed into the plane, I started to seriously question my courage.
Fully strapped in, I pulled on a canvas helmet with earphones. I tried not to think of the result of landing head first on the ground with that canvas helmet, and admired my aviator look in the rear view mirror. The plane’s owner showed me where I could place my feet, and all of the things NOT to touch. Looking around the interior of the plane, I swallowed hard when I saw glimpses of tarmac showing through the steel plates and realized that I was about to experience flight in a way that few people do. This was going to be an Amelia Earhart moment.
GULP.
Hunter said that not only the heavy canvas straps, but centrifugal force would keep me inside the plane, but with your head and shoulders sticking out into the autumn air, it’s hard to trust something invisible like centrifugal force. He told me to give a thumbs up, or a thumbs down, throughout the ride, and he’d respond accordingly.
While Hunter completed the pre-flight preparations and started the plane, I inspected the interior, and practiced keeping my act together. It only took a few seconds of careening down the runway, and we lifted into the air. We watched the crowd and the airport shrink from view. But those winds that stopped the Great Balloon Race were still blowing, and the biplane bobbed as it headed out over the fields of Talbot County. I gave a thumbs up.
But only minutes later, I found my teeth clenched, my eyes closed and my fingers gripping the steel rods of the aircraft. My camera hung heavy around my neck and my brain was working overtime.
“Open your eyes, look around, wheee!!!!!!” my inner self screamed. But the only words that came out were “ai yi yi yi yi yi yi!”
“Take some photos! Look how beautiful! Just let go – this is fantastic!” I told myself. But still, I clenched and clung.
“You ok?” Hunter asked in the headphones. Petrified, I couldn’t let go, but nodded my head. There was no way I was going to shorten this flight. I was going to enjoy it.
And within a few minutes, I managed to force myself to breathe, to stop thinking about falling out, stop worrying about having a heart attack, and to look out, to hold my camera in one hand and to capture some images of the remarkable views below.
Periodically, I’d check the rear view mirror to make sure he was still there, behind me. We flew toward the Miles River, and did a couple of sweeping circles around. Centrifugal force did hold us in as we made turns at serious angles. The yellow wings of the biplane tilted and swung as we traversed our route.
The fields, houses and trees below looked exactly as I knew they would. Docks lined local creeks and I recognized Highway 50, the Ford dealership and the mobile homes in Hyde Park. It did sort of look like Google Earth, except the wind rushed around my head and my heart was pounding. Slowly, I relaxed, and was able to take some photos and breathe not only in, but exhale too.
In the second half of the flight, exhilaration took over, and I recognized that this moment, this flight, would stay with me forever. Hunter has guestbooks filled with notes from people he’s taken up in planes, and every single one of them talk about how the flight changed their life.
It changed my life, too. 72 hours later, I still feel on fire, trembling and a little shaky, but exhilarated. I recall the sweeping feeling of the breeze in my face, the turns and the wind. Even today, when I hear the sound of a plane, I stop, turn and watch. And just like with the geese, I project myself right up into that scene and look down, it’s still so fresh in my mind.
Fantastic!
For information about flying or learning to fly, you can contact Barry Gillman at 410-310-1920, Hunter Harris, or check out this list of flight schools in Maryland.
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Joan P. Bosin says
I can’t believe that my first born daughter, who has always been afraid of heights, took this airplane ride. Good for you Kathy.
Dad and I have always been so proud of you we think you are terrific. I can hardly wait to see you and hear more about this
wonderful day.
Kathy Bosin says
thanks, Mom!
Jim Meadows says
Hi Kathy:
As one of the organizers of the airport day event I congratulate you on a superb job of reporting. You have captured the experience of the day in words and photos as well as anyone I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Thank you for being so honest about your experience and how you conquered your fear to turn the experience into a lifetime event. Darn good work!
Jim Meadows
Charlie Yonkers says
What a wonderful article, Kathy. You nailed the experience and excited your readers. It certainly is a life-changing place! Once there, one’s whole perspectives change. I had a similar flight some years ago around Talbot County, over and around Greater Wittman, MD in particular, and lasting memories and photos to cherish. You did a great job of rejuvenating those memories. I’m so happy for you, and now that we know of your fear of heights, our congratulations as well. Charlie
Bruce Long says
Thanks for the great article, Kathy. I attended the show, and you really captured it. And your reporting on the flight put me right in the cockpit with you and Hunter!
Shalagh says
As you project yourself into the sky, I put myself beside you, proud to be here knowing you. You did it anyway.