Flying on a gorgeous afternoon last week in the Florida Keys, I saw something that made me shake my head. From my vantage point cruising east at 1,200 feet after stopping for lunch in Key West, I spotted a tiny speck of an airplane at an altitude of maybe 50 feet buzzing cars on a bridge. It looked like a Cessna Skycatcher and, based on the aggressive maneuvers, I doubt very much that the pilot was an officer with the Florida Highway Patrol.
The episode made me think back to a time about 10 years ago when I stood in Mallory Square in Key West at sunset just as some guy showed up in his Great Lakes biplane and started doing low-level aerobatics over the water feet from the pier. I have no idea what skills he possessed. He didn’t kill himself or anybody else, but nevertheless I took several steps back from the water’s edge as he started his show.
