Aviation Travel

Whether you're flying to one of your favorite vacation spots, or to a remote airstrip high in the mountains, aviation travel is an experience unto itself. Browse our aviation travel section and capture the atmosphere of adventure flying.

Sunday, May 1, 2005 Burt Rutan After drawing and building airplanes all his life, this genius’ designs are getting out of this world Before pilot Brian Binnie soared and flew right into world history aboard SpaceShipOne on October 4, 2004, team leader Burt Rutan had a little advice for his old golfing buddy. Just after 6 a.m. inside a hanger at Mojave Airport in California, Burt leaned into the bug-like spacecraft’s cockpit and said, “Use the driver. Keep your head down and swing smooth.”

Sunday, May 1, 2005 Escorted Adventures Taking full advantage of being a pilot in Central America Bob and Jill Blettner flew from Wisconsin down to Key West, Fla., in their Cessna Centurion to meet Thierry Pouille for the first time. Jimmy and Diane Jones came from Georgia in their C-206. Don and Arlene Stoppe flew their Seneca from New Hampshire. Philippe Harsch arrived from Paris, and Marc Cotte from Johannesburg, South Africa. All came for a single reason: to join in a fast-growing activity in general aviation—escorted adventures with Thierry Pouille and his company, Air Journey.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 A New Kind Of Air Racing Red Bull has combined low-level aerobatics through a slalom course of pylons to give birth to an exciting new type of in-your-face race—all in the backdrop of Reno, Nevada! Reno 2004: The single red and blue airplane comes screaming downhill from 1,000 feet toward the twin pylons, passes through the center of the short gap between them and starts the race. Then, inexplicably, the airplane does an 8 G pull up to vertical, rolls past a wingover to inverted and dives straight back down toward the ground. It’s called the Red Bull Air Race, and it’s a type of competition no one in the U.S. has seen before.

Saturday, January 1, 2005 Howard Hughes Once again, a new wave of attention has focused the spotlight on one of America’s most brilliant and mysterious aviation figures This past December 2004 marked the release of a new movie called The Aviator, which is directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the pre-1950s life of Howard Hughes. Although it’s an entertaining film, it probably raises more questions than answers for those interested in the reality of Howard Hughes’ life as an aviator.

Monday, November 1, 2004 The Men Behind The Lens Amidst a massive military aircraft launch, 150 aviation photographers gather to perfect their craft There it sits, waiting, a latency of brooding power. It’s like the unprocessed image on a digital memory chip. Family: American warbird. Genus: Lockheed Stealth Fighter. Species: F/A-22 Raptor. You can feel the deadly purpose rise from its gold-tinted canopy and cool, gray skin, like the heat waves that shimmer the Vegas Strip in the distance.

Monday, November 1, 2004 The Leeward Air Ranch Four generations of a flying family keep the tradition going Jimmy Leeward really never had much of a chance. His parents eloped in an Aeronca C-3. The couple settled down on a grass strip outside of Tarentum, Pa., and as soon as Jimmy could walk, he was at the airport, cleaning and eventually working on many airplanes. Of course, he, too, would become a pilot.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 The Search For Amelia Sixty-seven years later, the mystery behind the disappearance of Earhart and her Lockheed Electra might soon come to an end Lady Lindy always knew how to captivate a crowd. And today was no different. She, famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart—nicknamed for her comparable achievements to another celebrated aviator, Charles Lindbergh—stood in front of her airplane amidst a throng of people who were eager to witness her attempt at yet another record-breaking flight—to become the first person to fly around the world at its widest route, near the equator.

Wednesday, September 1, 2004 Flying The Yukon Quest Airplanes support a 1,000-mile sled-dog race through the toughest terrain on the planet The sun isn’t up yet and Gary Chamberlain is already on the phone, talking to flight service. The news isn’t good. Circle City, a small checkpoint along the sled-dog race route based on the banks of the Yukon River, is reporting 20 to 30 knots of crosswind with blowing snow, the ceilings are low, and the temperature is stuck at 57 degrees F—below zero.

Thursday, July 1, 2004 The Bears Of Kamchatka A pilot in the wilderness re-learns the lesson that the most dangerous animal on earth is man For Charlie Russell and Maureen Enns, it had been a mostly sleepless night. Straight winds of more than 100 miles an hour were not uncommon in remote southeast Russia, and the storms that came with them could last for days. Their tiny homebuilt cabin perched on the tundra was barely a refuge from gusts of air that found their way through the tiny imperfections in the walls, the roof and even the floor, bringing with them deposits of snow, dust or rain. At first light, their worst fears were confirmed: The wind had put their airplane on its back.

Saturday, May 1, 2004 Tuskegee Tradition Named Double Vee for the victory over Europe and discrimination, this Texan is the only remaining AT-6 once assigned to the Red-Tailed Angels Their legacy is one of courage in the face of a variety of adversaries—fierce anti-aircraft artillery fire, swarms of enemy fighters, some of the worst weather in Europe and constant derision and discrimination from many of their own comrades in arms during World War II.

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