On Flight Mode…

Fright, Frigid, to Flight – Have you ever thought that it was possible to go through the latter three stages and come out refreshed at the end? It only took one text from my pilot friend, Rémy– “Hey! Care to join me for a flight?” – to move from the first stage to the last.

Stearman PT17 F-AZCK

Years back, if I had received an invitation to fly on a small plane, I would have probably declined it because I used to have an irrational fear of heights and wasn’t always keen on trying out new things. But ever since I graduated from university in 2021 and started venturing on a personal quest, I have developed a taste for adventures. Currently, after having worked for over a year in Hong Kong and in Rennes all throughout the summer, I am back at university, yet to brace for a new challenge – the Concours d’Agrégation Anglais. Following the recent few occasions I had with flying, I felt relieved from stress; somehow, flying seems to have a therapeutic dimension. I am grateful for my friend, Rémy, who shared his aviation passion with me and gave me the opportunity to fly.

Flying is such an ingenious and bold act, as it alters our habitual mobility into adopting a different one as if being given a new set of wings; shifting elements from land to air. It seems surreal how, in a nick of time, our perspective can change from ground level to the aerial realm, just like in the movie scene when Harry Potter, pushing his luggage cart, runs into a concrete wall at the train station to land on the wizardly world; or, in Narnia, when Lucy, in happenstance, discovers another world as she keeps moving forward, trying to reach the end of the wardrobe until she is thrust into the unfamiliar Narnian world.

The thing is, I cannot help but associate the realms of fantasy and the imaginary when it comes to flying on a light aircraft… The experience felt magical. Extraordinary. I can stop right there because to say any more could diminish the intensity of this wonderful experience, but I will try my best to enliven it through words.

Earlier this month

Rémy and Noëlia in front of PA28 F-GHYZ

Earlier this month, Rémy invited me to attend the Open Day at Rennes Air Club. I had the occasion then, to go for a “bapteme de l’air,” which was life-altering. The weather was sunny in a deep blue sky; we flew on the F-GHYZ, a small white and red wine aircraft.

Rémy suggested that I go to the front seat next to the pilot! I asked, “Is there anything for me to do?” I was implicitly warned not to touch anything, unless – and we all laughed.

Rémy, Fanfan and Noëlia inside of PA28 F-GHYZ

Later, when we moved further ahead, the pilot seated next to me told me it was my turn to steer the yoke. Reluctantly, I grabbed hold of the handles, turned to look at the pilot for approval and instruction, checked the view facing me from the cockpit window, and to my right side, downwards, and then immediately up again and wondered dreamily, which way should I follow? In truth, my head was in the clouds and my earthly mind’s reasoning had yet to adapt to what goes on up there. Meanwhile, I have been taking driving lessons so I readily looked for road signs, road lines, pedestrians, or the sort, but of course, none of that appeared before me but only the vastness of the sky and nomadic clouds surrounding me; as I held on to the yoke for the first time in my life, I felt at once a sense of fear but that quickly dissipated and turned into awe. The flight lasted for half an hour; we made a short circuit from Rennes to Vitre, across several towns and villages.

Two weeks ago

Sharing some fish from Rennes' market before our flight

Two weeks ago, I was so excited when I received another invitation from Rémy, to join him and his wife, Séverine, and Séverine’s cousin, Rémi, to fly from Rennes Air Club to the Granville Aerodrome; we would be four altogether. Initially, it was scheduled for a Saturday but it got cancelled so we flew on the following day, October 15th, instead. I was thankful that our plan had changed as the weather was relatively less windy, it was cold and dry, which, according to Rémy, was perfect for flying. Before setting off, we had a delicious lunch at Rémy and Séverine’s place, which consisted of baked fish glazed with caramelized onions, steamed spiced rice, a red poppy fizz drink (made with the sirop de coquelicot that Rémi had brought back from Paris), and lovely eclairs in different shades and flavours.

(I regret not having taken a picture of this wonderful meal!)

Yankee Delta and RMA hangars in the South apron of LFRN with PA28 F-GHYZ inside

Afterward, we were all fully geared up to venture into the heights. We arrived at the airbase and I wondered at first sight, where all the planes were. Then we approached the hangar, slid the heavy metal gates, and suddenly, I started to relive the scenes from Top Gun: Maverick, the movie I had watched last May in Hong Kong with a friend who also decided, after leaving the cinema late passed midnight, pacing on the cold dark streets which contrasted with the intensity we both agreed we had just experienced, that this was unforgettable. Top Gun: Maverick was a turning point in my life. The music composed by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic, and Hans Zimmer which played throughout the scenes wrought with exhilarating sensations of velocity and light, time and space, certainly marked our young minds forever.

A picture of C172 F-BXIN a white and blue Cessna 172M

Our choice plane was the F-BXIN, a beautiful white and blue light aircraft with four seats. Rémy was the pilot and before we hopped on the plane, he astutely assessed all the important criteria needed fore and aft and went through plenty of details, making a debriefing through a checklist until we were finally ready to fly. We safely stored all our belongings in the plane’s trunk, took our seats one by one, fastened our seatbelts, put our headsets on, and tested them, and then the engine started. It felt amazing when considering a few minutes ago, we were standing and walking, and it wasn’t until the pilot’s call to take a seat that we put our feet into sleep mode as they were about to be swept off when the engine started to run rumbustiously, the propeller spun, the wheels glided on the runway, slowly taxiing at first, and then in full speed, we took off.

Flying is… sheer bliss

Noëlia with her headset surounding by the stunning views of the north coast of Britanny

Unlike flying on commercial flights, on a light aircraft, we are at liberty to experience what it is like to fly for real! In other words, it was such a privilege to be able to sit back as a passenger in a four-seat aircraft and be able to observe through the pilot’s gaze, which was so engaging, especially when your friend is the pilot. In every area we passed through, the view was mesmerizing! We managed to capture many aerial shots on our flight-mode-programmed phones, worthy of professional quality; every angle clicked no matter which position the camera lens tilted because, for a fact, the landscape and sky before us were inescapable. One moment Rémy explained we were nearing Saint-Malo, then Dinard, Mont-Saint Michel, Cancale, and Séverine pointed to the rows down below at sea level, which showed downsized oyster farms. For a while, I had lost my sense of direction as it felt that all the different prominent towns and ports of Brittany coincided and were grouped on a large piece of land; this was yet again exceptional – to be able to see the region in a bird’s eye view.

Noëlia with her headset surounding by the stunning views of the north coast of Britanny

Throughout the journey, we communicated with our headsets and Rémy also received communication from the air traffic control on his end. “There, here it is!” “Look!” “See it over there?” I was given the names of many places, old castles, terrains, natural formations, and high and low tides; I failed to grasp most of them maybe because it wasn’t always clearly audible through a headset high above and there was so much to learn about. Nonetheless, I felt comfortable and assured to be in the company of adventurous friends and a skilled pilot.

Sea on the left  Sea on the right

At some point, I knew we were about to fly over the sea, which I anticipated. We made a slight L- turn, and were well on our way to Granville! Through the window, I pondered on the infinitude and vastness of the sea and the sky; how much wider, how much further could it stretch, and to which end? I thought about the first aviators, brave inventors who were willing to take risks and kept believing, trial after trial because they had a vision to fly. In some sense, we were positioned in the median line, as if cutting through an invisible frontier in a blue sheet of sky and sea.

Granville's beach in Normandy featuring an oyester farm

After flying for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes, we successfully landed on the narrow runway of Granville Aerodrome. We casually left the plane in its parking spot, as if leaving one’s car at the parking lot, and then took a walk to the beach. It was cool to touch the ground and feel the familial pull of gravity against our heels again. There, we took time to rest and gathered our thoughts, admiring the beautiful view of the Normandy beach. We had a couple of drinks at a local bar before taking off again. The sun was setting on our way back; there was this soothing calmness high up there. The route back was much shorter; it only took us thirty minutes to land in Rennes!

C172 F-BXIN with it's pen nose after we stopped the engine

When I walked off the aircraft and pondered on this vessel that carried us a long way through our journey, I thought that it resembled a pen; its sharp propeller hub was just like the tip of a pen. Perhaps, the aircraft itself can be compared to an instrument of inspiration, like the pen or brush of an artist. After all, flying taught me to move forward and not backward, inciting me to not give up but to soar high, let dreams flow, and be opened to newer horizons.