Every now-and-then, a rare opportunity comes along that you just gotta grab. For me, it was a flight on an “experimental” airplane that my neighbor, Bob Kelly, built in his garage a couple years ago.
Amateur-built aircraft are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as “Experimental.” Per FAA regulations, if an individual builds at least 51 percent of an aircraft, it is eligible to be registered in the amateur-built category.Bob's plane was a kit that he purchased with all the parts already fabricated. He replaced some parts with others that he felt were more superior to make his plane safer.
Recently Bob offered to take me on a flight on his plane. The adventurer in me said, “Hell, yeah!” while the saner side said, “Are you nuts?” The adventurer won out and the next day we were airborne.
Of course, I had to take some photos and video of this exciting adventure. I figured if we crashed, the digital files on my camera would probably survive – offering a glimpse of my last moments on earth before meeting my Maker.
The camera I chose was a 360° panoramic camera to capture a complete wrap-around view from inside the cockpit AND outside the plane. Click the photo, above, (or tap it if you're on a mobile device) and slide all around it to see the crazy views that a 360° panoramic camera offers.
Above is a 360-degree AERIAL VIDEO I also created during the flight. You can actually look all-around while the video plays by clicking or tapping it (on a mobile device) and moving your mouse or finger in any direction!
See the gear and software we use to create our 360° panoramic videos and photos here.
I've been using this camera for the past year-and-a-half to create 360° virtual tours for nursing homes, the Cleveland Pregnancy Center, Case Western Reserve University, hotels, commercial construction companies, government agencies and more. You can see some of those tours here. (A new browser window will open.)
Have you ever flown on an “experimental” airplane or tried skydiving? How was your experience? Click here to share your comments.
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See more photos and videos highlighting what is great about CLEveland on our HOTonCLE website: http://HOTonCLE.com
Please subscribe to our HOTonCLE YouTube channel and then click the bell icon to get instant notifications when we upload a new video: http://HOTonCLE.com/YouTubeSubscribe
See the gear and software we use to create our videos and photos: https://spectralight.com/Gear
