On January 13, my third and final flight of the day and after 15 hours into my trip, I found out we were to be flying a "very small aircraft". Hmmm... They asked us for our weight and weighed our bags. The gate agent mentioned that no carry-ons were allowed - period. I begged her that my camera gear needed to stay with me at all times. She was able to make an exception for me to store my bag in the back of the 10 seat plane. Whew!
The plane arrived and boy it was tiny!!! The controller asked "who wants to sit in the front?" - I quickly raised my hand! I can't believe I did that!!! Last year at this time I was deathly afraid of flying. My imagination gets the best of me... luckily my husband Andy is reassuring in telling me that things are going to be ok. I've flown a lot this past year... although I am still a bit nervous during take-off (and I say a little prayer during lift-off) I am a much better flying passenger.
During the take off of this flight I couldn't help but to smile from ear to ear! It was like taking to the air in a Buick! But what a blast! Luckily they allowed me to take my camera and keep it on my lap. It took every ounce of resistance I had to not move or look around too much. I was too afraid of distracting the captain (who was sitting about 8" away from me to the left) or causing unnecessary movement within the plane.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to fly in the co-pilot seat! And I want to send a big thank you to all of the people who call an aircraft their "office". We as passengers have a tendency to not listen to the safety instructions or look behind us for the nearest exit. Today has been a testimony to the dedication of safety of these workers.
