08-10-96
No lesson
A WTC story...
I had planned to fly the day after that lesson on the 9th, but I remembered that I had some bills to pay. My glow of responsible righteousness is tarnished when I awake to see a singularly perfect summer flying day!! Only comfortably warm thanks to a gentle breeze, and the clear, deep sky is an intense rain-washed blue, with very picturesque scattered cumuli scudding along at well over 3000 feet. Dammit.
It's almost too much to bear- I was going to solo today!!
Now I need cheering up... what to do?
I toy with the idea of going to Old Bridge for a Cub ride- only $25, I can afford that... but I'm not sure how I might get there, and I suddenly don't want to bother with it.
So I decide instead to take the train into Manhattan to see Independence Day at the fabulous Ziegfield Theater. There's enough fun flying stuff in that silly movie to satisfy me, and I step out into the sun-washed street feeling a little better.
So I take a stroll in Central Park, forgetting about flying for a while... and a terrific idea pops into my head.
I take the train down to the World Trade Center, having just realized I have never been to the observation deck atop Tower 2, and today is about as good a day for that as I'll ever get.
The wait is not too bad, and soon I'm leaning on the rail taking in a breathtaking view. The horizon all around is crisp and clean, and I am pretty sure I can see some smokestacks near Philadelphia. Amazing. A few small planes, including good ol' 475, which I recognize immediately, putter past, well below the place where I am standing. Well, now, that's different!
Also sighted: a turboprop commuter making its way south over the river before turning for 29 at Newark.
I am thinking about flying again now... I scout for decent emergency-landing sites within the VFR exclusion... been wondering lately about the wisdom of flying there, limited by the top of the box. Unfortunately , the huge bulk of tower 1, and its antenna blocks a good chunk of the midtown portion of the east bank, but I remember that there's nothing there to land on, except maybe the roofs of the huge ship terminals.Even there, something would get bent, for sure.
On the other bank there is also nothing to speak of, until you get as far as Liberty State Park, with its big open field.
None of the area roads would be suitable, except maybe the NJ Turnpike. It's something to ponder.
Nearby is a man and his young son, and he is telling the boy about the hawks and falcons that roost on the antenna on Tower 1, and how they hunt for pigeons from this lofty perch. I am intrigued; never heard about that before... and I turn to look at him just as he points towards the other building and says "...and look! There goes one now!!"
I spot it right away- a peregrine, I think- already stooping with wings and feet tucked in tight- it shoots out into the void like an arrow, headed straight down.
The sight takes my breath away, and the three of us share a brief smile, 1000 feet above the streets below.
If someone had told me I might see that today, here in the highest reaches of this great metropolis, I would have probably canceled my lesson to see it, even if I had the money to fly.
Next: Flight 51:unusual attitudes with foggles, etc.
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