Month: May 2019

“Flying Carpet Ride,” Greg’s July, 2019 Flying Carpet column

flying adventures, Flying Carpet column

Nothing’s more rewarding for pilots than a mission.

“Shay needs a ride home for Easter weekend—do you know anyone driving to Flagstaff from Phoenix?” texted our friend Terri from Window Rock, in far northeast Arizona.

Terri’s niece Shay is a university student in suburban Phoenix. Along with joining family for the holiday, she wanted to visit an ailing relative and her cousin’s young baby. But Shay has no car, nor is there efficient public transportation for the 300-mile drive from Phoenix to Window Rock. She sometimes rides five hours home with a classmate, but this time he could offer only the return trip.

Flagstaff is only halfway to Window Rock, but from there Terri could retrieve Shay in an afternoon’s drive. None of my neighbors, however, expected holiday visitors from Phoenix. So I offered my young friend a Flying Carpet ride.

Delivering Shay from Glendale Municipal Airport (KGEU) directly to Window Rock would have saved Terri hours of driving, but for me it meant flying four hours in afternoon turbulence, half with an inexperienced passenger. So instead I proposed rendezvousing Shay with Terri at Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport (KINW), just an hour flight from Glendale and two hours’ drive from Window Rock.

Shortly after I landed at Glendale on the appointed day, Shay texted that she’d arrived–but was nowhere in sight…

**Read Greg’s entire column, “FLYING CARPET RIDE” ** Mobile friendly version here.

Photo: Shay (r) greets her grandmother and Aunt Terri (l) at Arizona’s Winslow-Lindbergh Regional Airport.

(This column first appeared in AOPA Flight Training magazine.)

Greg

©2019 Gregory N. Brown

If you enjoyed this story, you’ll love Greg’s book, Flying Carpet: The Soul of an Airplane. Autographed copies available!

New! Greg’s Photo Art Note Cards

Greg's photographs
Greg’s “Flying Carpet” Aerial Art Note Cards

Friends have long asked me to offer some of my most popular photographic images on high-quality “Art Note Cards” of the sort often found in art galleries, for use in personal communications with friends and clients.

It has taken me quite some time to research the highest quality cards, the most appropriate card stock, and to cull and select images. Well here, finally, are my first series offerings.

My “Flying Carpet” Art Note Cards series features some of my most popular “Views from the Flying Carpet” aerial photographs, while my Kachina Wetlands Art Note Cards showcase dramatic mountains-and-sunflowers landscapes.

Greg’s Kachina Wetlands “Mountains and Meadows” Art Note Cards.

These oversize 5″ x 7″ photo art greeting cards are press-printed on premium textured art watercolor stock, and come in multiples of four cards per image, including envelopes. (Various value packs offer up to five images on twenty cards.) Inner panels are blank for inscribing your own personal messages, and of course envelopes are included.

Learn more and purchase your own Art Note Cards here. Pending initial response, I plan to offer more aerial and terrestrial series in the future, and welcome your feedback on what those should be.

Thanks to all who encouraged me to imprint my images on art note cards, and for your patience in waiting for me to complete this first round. I predict you’ll be pleased with the outcome!

Greg