Ever since I was a little kid and I first looked up at a bird flying in the sky and thought "Hey, that'd be fun!", I've always loved airplanes. That's why I was really excited about today. My uncle has his pilot's license and the other day told me that he had reserved his flying club's airplane for this morning. He asked if I would like to come along (as if he didn't already know the answer). So, around 11:00 this morning, I found myself pulling up to Creve Coeur Airport in my green Chevy pickup with my brother Clark, and staring at the planes zipping about in the sky overhead. My uncle had been flying for about an hour before so he was already waiting for us near the pilot's lounge. He looked at his watch and said "let's go, we've got the plane til 1:00 and we're gonna make the best of it." So, we hopped in, my brother in the back seat and me in the co-pilot chair. We buckled up, and then let him go over his pre-flight checklist. If anyone has the chance to go flying in a small, 4 seat cessna, I highly recommend doing so because it gives you a whole new perspective on things. You get an idea of how much a pilot has to know before he can fly a plane. You get to know what it's like to be strapped securely into a seat and feel like you can withstand anything. But most of all, you get to see the world from a whole different perspective.
Take it from someone who's been on several large passanger airliners; flying in a small plane is NOTHING like those big behemoths. When my uncle started the plane, taxied to the runway, and began his final takeoff checklist, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins. I had been through this before, and I knew that everything was going to be OK. I knew enough about planes to know that all pilots are anal-retentive about upkeep on their planes, and for good reason. They don't want to be flying along at 4000 feet and all of a sudden have part of their wing fly off. Now, trust me... they're not keeping two because they're greedy, but because you need two wings to stay UP! Anyway, my uncle is a very smart man and there are few people I would rather have as my pilot. He has been flying small planes for 15 years and has a degree in Aeronotical engineering from what is now Missouri School of Science and Technology. He KNOWS what he's doing. So I don't have a single fear in my mind as he revs the engine and we start speeding down the runway.
Something else that you don't get from flying in the big passanger jets is the full view of the world around you. You see the world from a tiny, rectangular window and that's all you get to enjoy. With the cessna, you see EVERYTHING. You see the ground next to you, next to the person on the other side of the aircraft, behind you, and DEFINATELY unlike those big jets, you get to see what's in front of you.
The runway below us sped by as I wondered how long it would take to gain enough speed for liftoff. Right as the thought crossed my mind, I felt the plane suddenly defy gravity and lift off the ground. We climbed higher and higher, and I just stared out the window as the ground was left behind. I can honestly say that though I've been flying with my uncle many times, it never ceases to mystify me, looking down and seeing the ground to which I am bound no longer have hold of me. For the time being, I truly am... free. We climb to an altitude of around 3500 feet and level off. My uncle asks where we'd like to go, and the verdict is: South. We wanted to go see the Meremac River (which had been flooding), and other points of interest to the south. This was especially appealing to me because usually we fly west due to the fact that we live in that direction, and it's always interesting seeing your house from the air. This time, though, would be a change.
Flying south, we quickly left the area that I was familiar with. Travelling between two points completely changes when you're in a plane. You're not held back by roads, or speed limits, or traffic congestion. You have only clear sky and space through which to travel. You're only limited by the size of your engine and aerodynamics of your plane. The plane we were in had a maximum speed of about 170 knots, which was about 200 miles per hour, though they recommend not exceeding 140 knots or 160 miles an hour. Most of the time, we cruised along at about 120 knots or 140 MPH. It was phenominal the things we saw. Farmland, woods, houses, SIX FLAGS OVER MID AMERICA (which I always thought was MUCH bigger), radio towers, and some sort of brush fire. We made it all the way down to Park Hill, MO and St. Joe State Park in 40 minutes or so! By car, that would have been a 2+ hour journey. After flying over the park and watching a bunch of people playing around on their dirt bikes and ATVs, and a couple of wipeouts, we started flying back.
We decided instead of flying back to Creve Coeur, we'd first go by Washington, MO and just see that town from the air. It took us 22 minutes to fly from St. Joe state park in Park Hill to Washington Missouri. Amazing. Looking at the time, however, we realized that time was getting tight, so we made our turn north east and headed home. The way back was a very interesting time because when we were still a ways off, I began seeing the city of St. Louis. Not the skyline, but the people's houses. I mean, I had seen them on the way out, but now I really started paying attention. I remember looking at all of the houses, and thinking about the people living in them. I began thinking about myself and exactly where I was. I realized just then that I was in an airplane, flying over my home city having just covered more distance in two hours than most people would be able to cover in five, and that I had an entire world of possibilties open to me.
We landed safely back at Creve Coeur, and my uncle had to put the plane away. After helping him clean things up a bit, my brother and I thanked him for taking us, then headed home. On our way back, I looked around at the cars beside me on the highway and wondered about the people inside. I wondered if they had ever gotten to experience anything like what we just did. I wondered if they had any dreams that were fulfilled, or which ones they gave up on so they could achieve some temporary happiness. I wondered if their view of the world would always be limited to such a "flat" perspective. I know it sounds cocky, but I pitied them.
When I got home, I sat in my recliner (the one that I sit in when I need to think or when I'm being especially intentional in seeking God) and prayed and reflected. I realized why there are so many people that fail to follow through with their dreams. Ready for this? People don't follow through with their dreams because they get distracted with life. Work, school, family, friends, obligations, medical problems, whatever; they get distracted. I too would have gotten distracted from my dream if it weren't for the absolute clarity of it as well as the inherant intensity of the vision. This dream is a vision of a world filled with people living for and loving thier Creator as well as each other. People seeking only to further His kingdom and not their own glory. How can that not be absolutely compelling? Yet, for some reason, the pull of the world and distractions of those things mentioned above is still very strong. I think that activites like today's airplane ride are absolutely necessary to maintain focus, and regain perspective when you've been distracted for too long.
-The Sailing Preacher
