BENJAMIN JUSTER

In my 20s , I earned my private pilot license for small , single engine airplanes . There is not much that I ’ ve experienced in life that compares to the freedom of lifting off from a long stretch of runway , climbing above the tree lined horizon , and into the expansive sky . The landscape shifts and perspective changes . Mountains , rivers , houses and highways look familiar , yet so much different from above .

All pilots learn early on that a plane in flight becomes an inseparable component of the earth ’ s atmosphere . Without an anchor or tether to the ground , the plane is subject to the varied winds and air currents . This knowledge is especially important to consider when plotting a course from one point to another . For example , I may plan to fly to an airport that is in a town that is situated due east from me . If I set my direction and point the nose of the airplane directly east ( 90 degrees on a compass ), I might think that I ’ ll arrive at my destination eventually . But what if the winds are blowing out of the South ?

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