Flyboy

I've never been averse to going up in airplanes. So when I received an invitation from John Klatt Airshows to take a trip, I didn't hesitate to accept.

Maj. Klatt, who hails from Minnesota, is in the Air National Guard and has been flying for the military for nearly 20 years. He is in town for the Wings Over Pittsburgh air show at the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township (Saturday and Sunday).

When he said we'd do some rolls, loops and the like, I figured, that sounds great! How many people get that opportunity. It certainly was exciting when we started flying upside down, then we twisted around a bit. What a view!

Al Serafini, the director of operations at the newspaper, was in a plane flying tandem with us, shooting photos through the open door. As Al later told it, he had more fun that I did.

That's because of the ol' stomach acting up on me. After a while, I had to ask Maj. Klatt to take it easy, so we headed for downtown Pittsburgh to see the sights from the sky. That was cool, too, but my gut was calming down only marginally. So I looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, thought about ginger ale, and managed to make it back to solid ground intact, so to speak.

I later put together a video/slideshow featuring Al's photos and portions of the commentary between myself and Maj. Klatt during the "mission."

Click here to check it out.