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Cobwebs from the Coronavirus

The runway, a black welcome mat surrounded by white snow, was waiting. Courtesy Dick Karl
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Despite pandemic caution in daily life, the author felt an "irrational" desire to fly, viewing it as an escape and source of freedom.
  • A planned personal flight from Florida to New Hampshire prompted meticulous pre-flight planning, intensified by a flying hiatus and the pandemic's context.
  • The initial flight attempt was safely delayed due to a heavy snowstorm and poor braking conditions at the destination airport.
  • The subsequent flight was executed perfectly, providing the author with a profound sense of liberation and triumph over the pandemic's constraints.
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Just when it seemed like the threat from the coronavirus was subsiding, fall turned to winter, and many of us were forced back inside. We soon got sick and tired of being cooped up. Our national mood seemed to be: enough already with the distancing, masks, 6-feet-apart thing. It soon became clear that people interpreted the threat and recommended public-health measures differently. It also became apparent that the situation could be used to further individual agendas. For example, I am an extrovert married to an introvert. One (me) wanted to invite friends to our home for dinner. The other (she) wanted to eat at a restaurant. We cautioned (shamed?) each other and stayed in and had no dinner parties.

Dick Karl

Dick Karl is a cancer surgeon who appreciates the beauty and science involved in both surgery and flying. Dick’s monthly Gear Up celebrates the human side of flying. He writes about his enthusiasm for both the machines and the people who fly and maintain them.

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