the gift of flight

Every 12 months or so I have the great privilege of having a flight in an Australian Army Blackhawk helicopter. For those of us who have family who work in the industry the department is kind enough to let family members have a flight every now and then to familiarise ourselves with what it is they actually do every day.
This year both my young sons were old enough & tall enough to qualify for a flight. I honestly don't think I've ever seen them look so happy - ever!
Their little faces were beaming from ear to ear, and who wouldn't be. A Blackhawk cruises at 250 km per hr, so when you're zipping through the air with the pilot deliberately pulling negative G's with the sole intention of turning stomachs it's pretty much everything a 6 yr old could dream of. It's paradise up there.

So there I was strapped in between my two boys. One with his face painted like a tiger, the other with his face painted like a leopard. They were fearsome indeed. Perhaps I'll show you the photos one day :)
We didn't have a long flight, probably only 5, maybe 7 minutes, but the view was magnificent.
We've suffered from a terribly debilitating drought here on the Darling Downs for the past 10 years or so, but this last winter we've has record rains, and the rains haven't stopped. So now, instead of the usual dry brown that we've become so familiar with, what I saw from my helicopter was vibrant green all around me. Full dams for the first time in years, Farmers have planted their crops and can expect a bumper yield.

So this is one of the images that have come from that flight. Five minutes of fun and inspiration.