The airfield is up and running for the season!

The truth is, it never shuts down.  The entire airfield is open and people fly their planes all winter long.  Apparently airplanes have to be flown regularly to keep them in tip-top shape (my lawn mower sits in the garage in the off season and starts right up in the spring).  There is a nice pellet stove in the office that keeps it nice and toasty warm - even the hanger is heated.  But biplane rides and sky diving stop operating once the weather gets cold.

Yesterday everything was open and I had my first biplane ride of the season.  The pictures in this article were all taken yesterday with my iPhone.  I took the ride at about 6 pm; it took a few tries to get the biplane started but that's due to colder temps.  It finally caught and we taxied down the runway.   As we took off I saw golfers at the golf course waving at us.  Cars pulled over on Race Lane to watch us.  There is something so magical about that biplane.

 Just so you know, once you're in the plane and moving it isn't cold at all.  The windscreen keeps the breeze off of the passengers. Plus, you sit behind the engine so you feel perfectly comfortable.  The picture to the right is one of the pilots, Chris (they are both named Chris, FYI).  You can see that flying makes him a very happy pilot. (don't sit on the fence by the parking lot... that makes him an unhappy guy)

As you can see from the pictures, the weather was perfectly clear inland but once we got near the beach the fog began rolling in - just a typical Cape Cod afternoon.  The views were awesome and the fog added to the mystery of my first flight.  Over the winter I had forgotten how fabulous that biplane is, I think everyone should ride it in at least once.  It's a steady, slow, stable ride and the view from the air will knock your socks off!

It felt like summer (almost!) and it's supposed to be even nicer weather today!  The only thing that was missing was our gas grill; we often grill our lunch and over the winter the junky grill we had there rolled over and died.

If you are trying to think of something unique to do today, why not head down to the airfield; you can just watch the planes, take a biplane ride, or if you're brave enough, go skydiving!