Nothing says traveling in style like riding in a convertible. The wind in your hair. The sun on your face. The ground 1,000 feet below you.
Say hello to Skythrills, a long-running stunt flying concern with more airtime than Dick Clark, just now offering open cockpit flights.
Your whip for the trip: the Waco YMF-5C, a 1935 prop plan updated with a modern engine, comfy leather seats, leather helmets, and David Clark headsets.
To get started, we recommend evening jaunts, when the sun is setting on the Pacific and the city’s illuminated.
Charter flights around SoCal are fun, and you’ll get to do gentle aerobatics. But to experience flying upside down in that same plane, do the extreme thrill ride.
It’s just a tour, but you’ll be dropping straight down 1,000 feet and experiencing six times the force of gravity which, the proprietor says, is kind of like “having a cow sit on you.”
Trips include a DVD for educational purposes. Or bragging rights. If that’s your style.
This article was featured in the InsideHook LA newsletter. Sign up now for more from the Southland.