A few days ago I was invited by a friend to fly along in a helicopter. What an opportunity! It would be a one-hour flight above the Annapolis-Baltimore area, and of course I was all for it and pretty excited to go. We drove to the tiny airfield located in Ft. Meade, and after some formal safety instructions and waiver signing, we went to the helicopter. My first flight in a helicopter some years ago was in a Bell or Eurocopter type machine, not small, but also not too big, the type that´s being used for medevac. This time it was a small chopper, a four seater Robinson R 44 light helicopter. There is an immediate connection to the physical process of flying, as opposed to the abstract feeling of flying in a jetliner. Every intentional and unintentional action by the pilot has a direct consequence in the movement of the small flying object. After a short period of anxious adaptation, ones own mindset becomes one with the craft.

Pre-flight check, engine warm up.

One of the first things we saw while ascending, was the NSA Headquarter.

Howdy partners! (Welcome to my blog)

St. Anne´s Church, downtown Annapolis.

A lot of Washingtonians have their weekend houses in this area.

This is Mill Creek, close to the Severn River.

Flying into Baltimore, hopefully German cars being unloaded.

Will our container be stored here until shipping?

The N.S. Savannah, the world´s first nuclear powered merchant ship.

Nowadays a historical site and museum.

Downtown Baltimore.

Baltimore´s Inner Harbour. The tall tower to the left is the World Trade Center.

The three smaller buildings next to it along the harbour is the Aquarium.

Fell´s Point to the right in the background.

Harbour neighbourhood.

Fort McHenry and it´s huge flag.

Uniform nightmare, or American Dream?

The R-44.

See more pics of the flight.