The Natural Born Aviator

When I was a little child I always dreamed of becoming a pilot. Later, I was informed by older friends and a few well-meaning but cruel adults that I did not have what it takes because of my impaired vision. Nevertheless I kept the dream alive deep within until I was an adolescent, always hoping that some cure or a visual aid would be found that meant I could fulfill the dream.

Finally I accepted my fate and got rid of the dream and lost all interest for flying and airplanes, still knowing that I would have been a wonderful pilot if I had been given the chance. Well, that chance came along yesterday even if it was "only" in SecondLife.

As most of you know by now, my husband Tomais is nuts with every kind of vehicle in existence in-world. He - I have no doubts - owns at least one copy of anything and everything that can be flown, sailed, steered, paddled, rolled or driven in-world.

When I bought a helicopter on a hunch a few weeks back, he told me that that particular model was extremely difficult to start flying with so I should start with a Seakite seaplane (url to Marketplace) instead. The Seakite can carry four passengers and has an option to share controls with a co-pilot.

We tried it out the day before yesterday, with Tomais as pilot and me as co-pilot. Tomais showed me the things I needed to think about when flying the aircraft and handed over the controls to me. It was exhilarating and thrilling to know that I was actually flying the plane myself, even if Tomais was there to keep us safe.

Yesterday we tried again, this time with me alone as the pilot. It was amazing and all went extremely well. I was of course, just as I have known all along, a natural born aviator.

As I was too busy with flying the aircraft and to excited about it to think of anything else, all the above photos are taken by my royal consort, Mr. Tomais Ashdene Esq.

Later on we went for a spin in one of Tomais fighter planes, which is of course much more advanced and faster. After having piloted an aircraft myself I could understand what was happening better and could also relax from my own adventurous experience.

Photography by master photographer Bock McMillan, from left to right
Capt T Ashdene and navigator B McMillan