Looking down I had noticed a thin
cloud layer close to the ground. It was not a large layer, it didn't extend all the way to my
destination. It also wasn't a smooth layer, there were
peaks,
valleys, little
fingers of cloud extending upward. I scanned the
gauges, I needn't have looked though, everything felt perfect.
Close encounters with clouds are usually either
very serious matters, when navigating through them on instruments, or brief encounters when climbing out of a cloud layer to
endless sunshine on top.. I have been extremely
fortunate on very few occasions to
skirt along the top of a layer in darkness lit by the light of a
bomber moon, reveling in the
feeling of speed and the
illusion of being just a few feet off of a
solid surface. Once I flew
into a dazzling sunset casting long shadows on the clouds below and, as
Bax wrote, "The golden light is level with the chord line of the wing and every rivet stands in its own little shadow of strength."
I wish I could write like that. I settled for
racing my own shadow.
This was...
enticing.
"What
airspace is that?" I think to myself. The top of the solid layer is just around 1,000 feet. It's
Class G, 1 mile visibility and
clear of clouds are the only requirements! I chop the power and head down to
play.
Flying often demands
professionalism,
accuracy,
skill. Sometimes, however, you can let all of that go for a short period and marvel at
creation from a
unique perspective. I circle around tall
spires, speed along in twisting valleys,
bank steep around outcrops of cloud seemingly formed just for my enjoyment.
Good for the soul, this is.
After a half hour or so I remember that I was on my way to meet someone at
Castle airport in
Merced, and they will be
waiting for me. It is with disappointment that I set climb power and climb back to my cruise altitude and continue to my destination.
On the short remainder of the flight to Castle I think briefly about the
what-ifs, what if the
engine had quit, or, what if another pilot had seen the same
opportunity and we met
rather rudely.
If that happens, I reason,
I should die happy.