I’m leaving on a small plane…

See that plane up there? It’s one of 12 Cessna 208B Grand Caravans that make up Air Choice One’s fleet. And you know what else? I’m flying on one… THIS FRIDAY.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing the airline’s CEO for an Airways Magazine story (more to come on that at a later date), and having never flown on a small plane myself, I completely lucked out… as they were willing to send me on a there-and-back jaunt from Minneapolis to Mason City.

You guys… I’m stoked. The only problem is, I’m kind of… well, nervous.

You see… most of you know that I have an unhealthy incredibly large obsession with airplanes – it doesn’t matter if I’m on the ground looking at one or flying at 30,000 feet, I love the HECK out of those magical metal beasts.

But what a lot of you might NOT realize is that only within the last year or so did my INTENSE FEAR OF FLYING dissipate. Back in my television news days (2010-2014), WSMV in Nashville flew me out to interview for a position, and wouldn’t you know it, some intense turbulence rocked our 737 so hard that we suddenly dropped and nearly hit the ground.

That obviously was an exaggeration, but you guys… all of us on board SCREAMED. And that in and of itself was enough to instill an incredible fear of flying in my little head that plagued me for years to come.

Once I really started following my dream of aviation journalism/photography, though, that fear waned. I actually would rather be in the air flying through heavy chop than doing much of anything else.

So… having never flown on a small plane before, I don’t know WHAT to expect. Help me out guys! I’ve heard horror stories of people getting sick due to “feeling” every. little. movement. I’ve watched every episode of every season of May Day Air Crash Investigation… and lo-and-behold, a LOT of the planes that crash are… you guessed it: LITTLE PLANES.

Honestly though… I am really, really excited. I know I’ll be in excellent hands (Air Choice One has a perfect track record) and I know that it will be a lot of fun. Not a lot of people get to take a “just because” flight, so I consider myself very lucky.

So… stay tuned for a full report Friday evening, if I make it back. Dun dun DUN.