A Different Perspective

The Intrepid Pilot & his new toy.
Merritt Island, FL, 6/8/13

The other day a friend called and asked if I’d like to take a quick flight above Cocoa Beach. It seems he has a buddy that needed some photographs of his property. He knew I had expressed an interest in going up in his new (to him) plane so he gave me a call. Of course, I jumped all over that, so I found myself Saturday morning in a tiny plane taking off from the Merritt Island airport for a quick jaunt over the beach. It was a fun 45 minutes.

His new plane is a Liberty XL2, a two seater with exceptional visibility. It is a peppy little thing and fairly leaped off the runway. We were over south Cocoa Beach in just a couple of minutes. He pointed out the property of interest and circled it while I shot it from all four sides. He then asked to see one of the shots to ensure I had got the right building. I hadn’t. We made sure I had the right one and made a few more passes until I assured him that we were good. For real, that time.

We took a short hop up the beach…I shot our favorite watering hole, The Beach Shack, and got a few of Port Canaveral before we had to head back for other commitments. I had a great time and hope to head up again when he has more time. I also learned a few things about shooting from a small plane to apply next time. While I feel that there’s room for improvement in most of the shots I got, the ones we were after are “good enough” to answer the mail. Here’s a few that are OK.

(PS: If you are in the need for an air charter in or around the Florida region, drop me a line in the comments and I’ll hook you up with these fine folks.)

Beach Shack on the right, Coconuts On The Beach on the left
6/8/13

Cocoa Beach Golf Course
6/8/13

South Cocoa Beach, Patrick Air Force Base in the distance
6/8/13

Submarine pen at Port Canaveral, launch complexes in the distance
6/8/13

Cruise ships in Port Canaveral
6/8/13

The Intrepid Pilot, his S.O. & their roomier plane
Merritt Island, FL, 6/8/13