We woke to an outstanding day for both weather and flight itinerary. Blue skies and calm winds, set the stage for an overflight of the Grand Canyon in an area designated for general aviation. You can see what a perfect day it was in this video.
On their way to the Grand Canyon,, Bill & Will had an outstanding view of the Meteor Crater at about 5,000 feet above the rim.
While I was driving I-40, headed to Kingman, the "Meteor Crater" signs were calling to me. I had to stop and see the crater made by a meteor (approximately 50,000 years ago) traveling 26,000 mph when it hit the earth. What an impact that must have been!!!! Here's my picture of the crater using the panoramic option on my iPhone at the observation deck.
From the crater, Bill & Will increased their altitude to 10,500 feet and flew for about an hour toward the Grand Canyon. About 5 miles from the rim of the canyon, they lined N20190 up to fly into the designated air space and climbed to 11,500 feet. They were flying north/northeast and crossed at the eastern end of the canyon.
Once they made it to the middle of the canyon, Will took this amazing video.
After they crossed the canyon, they then flew west and descended down to 10,500 feet.
Finally, they turned south and flew across the center of the canyon in the designated air corridor..
Canyon tour complete, they said good-by to the Grand Canyon and headed to Kingman, Arizona. This path involved flying over some rugged terrain where the daytime air was heating up. As a result, the flight was rather bumpy. None the less, they beat me to Kingman by about an hour. 🐢
What a day for all of us as we viewed how Earth's ancient history has scratched its marks upon her face. Cosmic disturbances and mother nature are ever changing the surface of our home; some occur in an instant, others over millennia. Seeing these transformations on such a grand scale as we did today, filled us all with a sense of awe.
