Seeing America by small plane (big pictures) [View all]

I've had my pilot ticket and my own plane for many years. All the vacations we take (except to other continents) are by my plane. The experience never gets old. It's much different than travel by the airlines. I fly at much lower altitudes, so the view is incredible. This is how people traveled back in the DC-3 days and the golden age of aviation. Instead of a hassle, getting there and back is the best part of the trip. I make fuel stops about every 400-500 miles. Since I live in Texas, pretty much anywhere in the country is no more than 2 fuel stops away. Flying through and around the clouds is an amazing experience. Sometimes unstable air makes for rising clouds all around you. Othertimes the clouds are very smooth on top and my landing gear might be skimming across the top of them. Going by small plane also opens up many more areas. I'm not bound by stopping in major cities. Small airports are everywhere, but I can also land at the large ones if I'm so inclined. Some things are so big you really don't get a good idea of their vastness until you see them by air. No picture can ever do justice to a large mountain range or the Grand Canyon.