A 2000 Ft Flight in Toronto

Human ingenuity and persistence is best seen in engineering. A mere 2 feet separated imagination and death in the hour long flight. Multiple forces are involved, from engineering, flight management to freedom of choice in choosing flight time.

We flew in a 1978 Piper Cherokee, i.e a 45 year old plane. She has also been to Alaska in freezing conditions, so 1°C in Toronto is child's play. Weather checks are done 4-5 hours prior, with snow shovelling also being done to boot.

Getting used to less state control has been an experience in Canada. Our pilot, Karl was free to choose his runway, time and path to fly in the Toronto airspace. Freedom and responsibility are two central tenets of western society. While we did two rounds of the iconic CN tower, it was our responsibility to not be within range of other private flights. I am still in shock with no ATC during our flight.

We witnessed apricity, which is the warmth of the Sun in winter. The sun was gentle across the winter sheets of snow, peppered with different colour churches and lazy coloured cars. The flight flew over 3 of Toronto's boroughs, Brampton, Mississauga and Etobicoke. Etobicoke had a soft spot for me because of the pristine waterfront and petite houses. Of course, I live there too.

A 2000 feet POV on your city gives everything different context. Large economies of scale is seen in the huge trucks on the 401, transit systems in the no of vehicles spotted and the downtown architectural glitz contrasted with the old houses in the boroughs. It's easy to say people make society diverse, but smart incentives and economic models make societies diverse and richer.

PS- Shoutout to our captain Karl for being a tour guide as well.