Flying Over San Francisco

Ali & Dan Take Flying Lessons!

Last Christmas, my boyfriend got me flying lessons! He said we could go anywhere, and I knew immediately that I wanted to fly over San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. So...four months later I successfully took off, flew and landed a plane...with a little help from the co-pilot/instructor, Mark Erwin, of Mark 1 Aviation. This was an incredible experience and probably the best present I've ever received :)

We flew out of the Palo Alto airport and headed north, flew right over San Francisco, including our apartment, and then right next to the Golden Gate Bridge! I'd been on a boat underneath the bridge, and am still amazed that now I've been over it as well, so close it was like I could reach out and touch it. Such an incredible experience!

As you can see, it was a partly foggy day, which actually made for some breathtaking views of the fog hugging the coast and burning off right at the Golden Gate Bridge.



From the Golden Gate Bridge, we flew over Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island and just past Alcatraz. Then we turned and flew directly above the financial district. Unbelievable!!! After buzzing around above the city, we flew parallel to the Bay Bridge, over the bay to a tiny airport in Oakland. Landing was pretty crazy but I'm sure Mark handled most, if not all of it...phew! I didn't even realize I was nervous until we actually landed and I let out a huge sigh of relief! Then we switched pilots and my life was in Dan's hands all the way back, over the San Francisco Bay and both bridges, Ocean Beach, and back to Palo Alto.

If you're considering doing something like this, I highly, highly recommend it! The experience started with an hour of ground preparation about flying and about the plane, a little 4-seater cessna. We even got to talk to the air traffic controllers and handle some of the signaling! You can hear it if you watch the video below. That was pretty cool :) Then I flew for an hour, switched pilots and Dan flew back, and we got a debriefing and learned some more air navigation commands and tips once we were safe on the ground. Mark posted the YouTube video below, and also mailed us a video of the entire thing. Such a great present and unique, thrilling experience. Plus if you're a photographer, I guarantee you will absolutely love this. What a better way to see the most beautiful city than from 2,000 feet above it?

  

So, maybe after grad school I'll have the time and money to get my pilot's license...maybe... ;)