As someone who has only flown Delta for vacation purposes, I jumped at the chance to be a passenger in an Extra 300L with an experienced pilot, because you only live once.
Lt. Col. John Klatt of the Air National Guard, who is here for the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show from Minnesota, introduced himself, and immediately I was strapped to a parachute and led to my seat in the plane where I was shown all the proper measures if I should have to make an emergency exit.
After being shown all the escape routes, the essential information I needed to know about my experience, and the camera that would film my reaction, the cockpit door was shut and we took off.
Terrified and excited going up into the air, I looked around and realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Klatt, who has been flying 28 years, informed me as we got higher we’d be doing “loops, inverted formation, barrel rolls, formation flying and sight seeing.”
As we got higher, I looked down and saw a version of Rome I haven’t seen in the 20-plus years I’ve lived here, and it was beautiful. Everyone in Rome who gets offered a chance to fly high above it should do so.
My initial amazement of being high above Floyd County was interrupted by barrel rolls, during which I was flipped over for a “seat belt check.” The barrel rolls occurred a few times and each is just as surprising as the first.
The flight ended with Klatt taking the plane on a few loops that consisted of flying upside down and around in a circle.
When we landed I was handed a bottled water and Klatt congratulated me on surviving my first flight and told me I was “hardcore.”
If he only realized how terrified I was initially he might not have defined me by that term, but I truly had fun, faced a fear and got to mark another thing off my bucket list.
The Wings over North Georgia Air Show will be Friday through Sunday at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.wingsovernorthgeorgia.com.
Wings Over North Georgia Air Show schedule
- FRIDAY
2 p.m.: Airport gates open
Air show rehearsal
4 to 8 p.m.: Auto show, BBQ classic
5 to 7:30 p.m.: Performers welcome & kickoff party (*Advance ticket purchase only), featuring Kurt Thomas Band
7:45 to 8:30 p.m.: Twilight air show
8:45 to 10 p.m.: Aaron Tippin concert
10:30 p.m.: Airport gates close
11 p.m.: Shuttle service ends
- SATURDAY
General Admission & Handicap Parking: $10 (*Rome-Braves Stadium)
9 a.m.: Airport gates open
10:45 to 11:15 a.m.: Opening ceremonies
11:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Air show
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Auto show and barbecue classic
11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.: Barbecue classic people’s choice tasting center
6:30 p.m.: Airport gates close
7 p.m.: Shuttle service ends
- SUNDAY
9 a.m.: Airport gates open
10:45 to 11:15 a.m.: Air show opening ceremonies
11:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Air show
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Auto show
5:30 p.m.: Airport gates close
6 p.m.: Shuttle service ends
*Reserved Permit Parking Only (*Russell Regional Airport)
*Limited Handicap Permit Parking: $10 (*Russell Regional Airport)
*Limited Overflow Parking: $15 (*Russell Regional Airport)
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