Suspended upside-down in a cloudless sky 5,000 feet above Port Angeles, things look very different.
First the Olympic Mountains, then city foothills and Ediz Hook rush into my view as four G’s of pressure paste me motionless against the seatback of a World War II trainer plane.
The aircraft pulls out of the loop and my rigid body relaxes, giddy with relief and screaming for the next gravity-defying trick.
“Whooooeeeeee!”
I can see why Cascade Warbirds love this gig.
My pilot, Bob Jones, is a member of the Warbirds Squadron 2, a Pacific Northwest group dedicated to keeping ex-military aircraft in the air.
Aside from collecting and preserving the historic planes, the Warbirds perform air shows and travel to fly-ins around the country.
They will be in Port Angeles on Sept. 7 for the fourth annual Airport Day at Fairchild International Airport.
“We’re hoping to get 20 airplanes here,” Jones said.
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The rest of the story appears in the Monday Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.