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At 2:30, Pilot Bruce strode into the hostel wearing pristine white shorts and a neatly ironed blue shirt complete with winged epaulets. It felt like that Officer And A Gentlemen moment and I half expected 'Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong' to start magically playing out of nowhere and for Bruce to sweep me off my feet and carry me out....well, ok, maybe it wasn't quite like that, and at 13stone I'd have probably given old Brucey a hernia. More sensibly, we walked over to his car and headed over to the airstrip....a field.

Co-pilot Livesey

Ricklivesey
2006-08-31 11:47:21

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Finished off my time in 1770 with the best spent 50bucks ever!

At 2:30, Pilot Bruce strode into the hostel wearing pristine white shorts and a neatly ironed blue shirt complete with winged epaulets. It felt like that Officer And A Gentlemen moment and I half expected 'Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong' to start magically playing out of nowhere and for Bruce to sweep me off my feet and carry me out....well, ok, maybe it wasn't quite like that, and at 13stone I'd have probably given old Brucey a hernia. More sensibly, we walked over to his car and headed over to the airstrip....a field.

The plane was a hillarious 2 seater, only just bigger than a Tonka toy. We climbed in, taxied to the end of the field and zoomed off into the sky.

I've never been in such a diddy plane before and it was well wicked! It felt like you could do anything with it, it was so nippy. I asked Bruce whether I was in store for a loop-the-loop, but although he's a trained stunt pilot, he said the plane wouldn't cope with the G-forces - bugger. Still, the swoops, dives and banks were brill! At one swoop we beat gravity and the entire contents of the plane, (me included!), shot to the roof!

The views were stunning as we circled around 1770 and Agnes Water, spotting turtles and sharks and flying by the Bustard Head lighthouse. After a little landing on a deserted beach and a piss-stop for Bruce, we jumped back in and, with guidance from de man, I grabbed the stick, put my feet onto the rudder peddles and started her up.

Clear prop., engine start

The toy plane started to trundle down the beach. I'd been briefed to pull up lightly when we hit the critical speed of 55 knots, (very Back To The Future!), and did so, sending us soaring up into the sky. It was mad! The adrenalin was pumping and the tiny plane being so responsive to my slightest movements made it feel like ...