Flying On the Wings of Love...

There I was, 100-115 meters over the Blake Sea, feeling the wind in my blond locks and how it was pulling at my mesh clothing that showed off my extraordinarily beautiful calves. I was enjoying myself wholeheartedly. The view of the water and the sims far below us was breathtaking and I felt extremely safe with my Tomais piloting the aircraft.

The blueprints for Blériot XI
Source: Wikipedia

Tomais had offered to take me on a ride in his Blériot XI which had been built in SecondLife based on the original blueprints of the aircraft used by Louis Blériot, the French aviator and inventor, on 25 July 1909 to make the first flight across the English Channel made in a heavier-than-air aircraft. The English newspaper, The Daily Express, led its story of that flight with the headline, "Britain is no longer an Island". 

The Blériot XI was produced in both single and two-seat versions... As my luck would have it, Tomais only owns the original single seat version. 

You may at this time quiet rightfully ask yourself, "If the plane is a one-seat version and Tomais is the pilot, where the f*** is Bock sitting?" 

The love of my life and the apple of my eyes, had me placed precariously, but quite securely (or so he claimed), on the left wing of the airplane. 

It is true, I did not have a seat belt handy, nor anything else to hold on to, but he had lovingly provided me with a parachute... and he did keep on speaking to me soothingly throughout the trip. 

The air plane in SecondLife is built true to the original. The pilot was to start the engine by turning the propeller while first saying "Fuel on" and then, as he keeps on turning the propeller, "Contact". Once the engine is started the pilot runs around the airplane and gets into his seat, then the passenger can jump on to the wing.

I must add, that the flight was very smooth and both the takeoff and the landing were an exhibition of masterly aviation by my Tomais.

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