Planet Earth, Through an Airplane Window

The view from above is rarely dull

Until you travel, it’s impossible to grasp just how massive the world is. When exploring unknown or distant pastures, one quickly realizes our individual presence is microscopic and that our glorious planet Earth is vast and varied in a multitude of aspects; geographically, culturally, architecturally, financially, linguistically…

You get the drift.

There’s no better way to witness sweeping splendour than through the window seat of a plane. Typically when I fly long-distance I prefer the aisle seat because I like to get up when I want and not bother someone else. But if the window seat is empty, or I have family sitting beside me, I’m eager to have a flight with a view.

The first leg of my recent trip down under started off positively. Once the doors were shut and no one had occupied the window seat, I slid over, claimed the spot and grabbed my iPhone.

There’s something quite exhilarating to roar down the runway and lift skywards, feeling the thud of the wheels settle back into the undercarriage and watch landmarks turn minuscule as my Montréal disappeared behind me.

We were engulfed by clouds soon after, so there was not much to see. When they parted later, a large chunk of uninhabited-looking land was below. In fact, the Prairie provinces are where 90% of Canada’s farmland is and are well known for their harsh weather. There are folks down there doing some mighty fine work to feed us peeps!

I’ve never been to any major cities in this central part of Canada — Calgary, Winnipeg and Saskatoon — but I hope to one day.

I was mesmerized by this weather phenomenon of two systems meeting over the Rocky Mountains. The plains meeting the hills…

The landscape between Sydney and Perth Australia was similarly stark but minus the snow. I was amazed at how linear everything was below — and how dry it was.

Earlier, I spied a field of perfect circles amongst some lush forestland. I’ve done some sleuthing and believe them to be the result of an irrigation system rather than aliens!

Closer to Perth, there were more extraordinary sights to see; hundreds of craters, some of which seemed to house a bright yellow substance. Again, google to the rescue; salt lakes.

It was like someone had flicked a massive paintbrush and splodges of gloop had settled on the ground.

So fascinating!

Then there were the sunrises and sunsets.

The sunset from Perth was beautifully vibrant as we approached Sydney airport.

The highlight was an incredible display of pink not long before we received the dreaded news that our plane from Auckland, New Zealand, was being diverted to San Franciso.

You can read about that fiasco here.

To get this shot, I had to invade my neighbour’s space; she was sound asleep, and I was terrified she would wake and think I was some perv! The only editing I did here was crop the pic; there are no colour filters. Yes, it’s blurry; I had to hold really still, as there was a bit of turbulence.

Twenty minutes later, this was on offer. What an absolute treat to witness. It made up for my lack of sleep!

Knowing I’d taken quite a few window shots and so a story was brewing, I couldn’t resist capturing the de-icing procedure on my last flight home. It’s a little perturbing to see all that rusty filth slide down your window moments before departure.

Did they only remove a layer of ice or perhaps some pertinent hardware to keep this beast in the air as well?!

For the record, an aircraft window is not made of glass; it’s a product called stretched acrylic. With all that atmospheric pressure, layers are key to ensuring aircraft safety. If it were all glass, some idiot would try to smash it!

It always bothered me that some airlines insisted on the window blinds being pulled up for takeoff and landing while others didn’t bother. Newer aircraft have taken care of that with an inbuilt system to dim the windows without pulling down a shade — and the ability to control their function from the flight deck.

Regardless of the size and type of aircraft, the airline or the destination, air travel always has a bonus of an aerial view of Earth. Look out the window, snap some shots and share your stories.