On November 17, from 9am until 4pm, the New Bedford Pilots Association to benefit the People Acting in Community Endeavors’ holiday toy drive will be offering 20 minute sightseeing plane rides of local communities. The 12th annual fundraiser at the Nor’East aviation terminal at New Bedford Municipal Airport.
The price is only $20 for adults and $10 for kids.
For information, email Joao Ferreira at jferreira@s-t.com.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
A chance to see SouthCoast like never before
By Joao Ferreira
Standard-Times staff writer
NEW BEDFORD — On the left, Lakeville is no more than an archipelago of lakes surrounded by fall foliage.
On the right, New Bedford looks like a lizard spread out along the edge of the Acushnet River.
The little Cessna 172 single-engine plane is fast reaching 2,000 feet, and from up here things look a little different.
Everything comes into perspective.
On a clear day, flyers can see the Boston skyline and the mountains of New Hampshire, Cuttyhunk and Martha’s Vineyard, and the vast expanse of the Atlantic.
Passengers almost always use the word “awesome” to describe the view.
“They say it’s awesome. Awesome is the word,” said New Bedford flight instructor Deanna J. King after stepping from the Cessna.
The passengers she’s talking about are the steady stream of kids who turn out for the annual Toy Flights fundraiser held by the New Bedford Pilots Association to benefit the People Acting in Community Endeavors’ holiday toy drive.
The 12th annual fundraiser is being held Nov. 17 at the Nor’East aviation terminal at New Bedford Municipal Airport.
“It’s just fantastic. Kids love it,” Ms. King said. “Yeah, it’s going to be a pretty good event this year. Miss Massachusetts is coming down on Saturday. I think with Miss Massachusetts this year, we’ll get more folks.”
Last year, about 120 passengers turned out for the event and about $2,500 was raised.
This year, for $20 for adults and $10 for children, the pilots association will offer 20-minute to half-hour sightseeing flights over local communities.
Friday afternoon was this reporter’s turn to go on a 30-minute flight to give the reader a preview of what is in store next month.
The route would take us over Dartmouth, Little Compton, R.I., Horseneck Beach and Dartmouth again, then back to New Bedford.
The command tower announces an overcast ceiling of 2,900 feet and a temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit as the little Cessna rolls down in a southwest direction on Runway 5.
Soon it is in the air.
“We’ll get a few bumps on the way up. Hopefully it’s going to be smooth when we get to 2,000 feet,” Ms. King says.
It isn’t bumpy.
“That’s (Route) 140 below us. Up there is Lakeville,” she says through the intercom system as the plane makes a turn to the right over a vast expanse of fall foliage cut by Interstate 195.
“Fall River is up there. That is Braga Bridge,” says Ms. King, pointing forward. “You can just make the battleship there to the right of the bridge.”
Ahead, the Spindle City spreads from the Wattupa Pond complex to the Taunton River, with a wide thoroughfare that looks like Pleasant Street lined up with the Cessna.
At this altitude, the plane cruises smoothly.
“Sometimes what we’ll do, we’ll let them take the controls,” says Ms. King, a flight instructor with Atlantic Aviation. “We’re straight up, there’s no safety issues here at all.”
The plane makes a left turn toward Little Compton. Newport, R.I., is seen ahead, as well as the complex of bridges that connect to the island and the Portsmouth Abbey’s famous wind turbine.
“Newport bridge is absolutely beautiful at night,” Ms. King says.
Soon we’re cruising over the half moon-shaped Horseneck Beach. To the left, the houses dot the scenery hugged by forests and surrounded by fields. In the ocean, a few yachts dot the water and seagulls fly around them.
“Not many people on the beach today,” Ms. King quips. “I don’t know if anybody ever told you that there’s a lot of shipwrecks out here.”
The trip is ending, but not before we glimpse an “awesome” bird’s-eye view of UMass Dartmouth, its architecture taking on a new dimension from the air.
The Cessna lines up with Runway 5 again and lands without a hitch.
“So, we do that about 20 times a day,” Ms. King said, half-joking.
I’d do it again.
Despite Friday afternoon’s gloomy weather, Ms. King said this is the best time of the year to fly, because the skies tend to be crystal clear and the air more dense.
The sightseeing flights on Saturday, Nov. 17, start at 9 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. The rain date is Nov. 18.
