This is one of the planes I fly in, piloted by Mike, who is part of an outfit called "Classic Aviators". They run a charter company on Martha's Vineyard that does big business on summer weekends giving rides in a red two seater biplane. This Cessna 172 is from the mid 70's and is in excellent condition. This one has the hinged window on this side, the left, so that's where I sit. Mike is a natural pilot as flying runs in the family.

Yesterday was perfect for flying with calm air and good clarity. The landing strip is close to the water so it was cool on the ground but as we got up to flying altitude you could feel the air get warmer, just the opposite of what you'd expect. It is still early in the season here and as the Vineyard is surrounded by cold water, everything happens slower in the spring.

On the way back to land we headed over towards Seven Gates, an area of the island developed almost 100 years ago with broad expanses of fields and large woods with few houses. I have only been in there a couple of times in all the years I've been coming to the island as it is private so it is great to be able to see it from the air.

As we approached the landing strip back in Katama. we flew over a couple of ponds:

Martha's Vineyard is a special place and fragile in many ways. Let's hope we don't screw it up so that it can be like this, so very beautiful, for future generations.

Just a gentle reminder: Viewing these pictures on an iPhone should be against the law and to see these larger click on an image and it will turn into a slide show.