Hot Spot
You can partake in getting a vintage picture with the biplane.
ARTICLE SHELLEY SEALE PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
Y
ou begin by donning a WWI-era leather helmet — this one outfitted with the
modern technology of a two-way headset — and a bomber jacket if you like, for old school authenticity. As you step onto the wing and climb into the snug fit of the cockpit, you can’t help but
A view of the capitol building from the biplane.
feel a few butterflies in your stomach. Taxiing down the runway, suddenly the song “Danger Zone” from Top Gun breaks into your headphones. The excitement has begun in your biplane flying adventure. “I admit I’m biased, but this is the coolest thing to do in Austin,” says Rob Whiteside, pi-
Austin Biplane
THRILLING ADVENTURE IS THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME
lot and owner of Austin Biplane. I have to admit I agree, and I’m not even in the air yet. I feel like I’m channeling Amelia Earhart in the open-air cockpit of a sleek, gleaming, fire-engine-red biplane. As it lifts off the runway, I can feel every breeze, every wind bump, as if I was in a sports car hugging the roadway’s every turn. It’s quite a ride. Being in an open biplane is quite a different sensation than flying in any other airplane, even small ones like the Cessna. The windshield does protect your face from the wind, so it’s not whipping you 14
Lake Austin Lifestyle | December 2015
Austin Biplane over Lake Austin at sunset