The air is warm. Insects hum in the distance as a summer sunset—red, yellow, and orange—fills the evening sky.

Throttle up. Airspeed alive. Rotate.

The climb-out is slower in the heavy summer air. Leaving the tower frequency, we’re handed off to departure.

Vectored on course, climbing to the assigned altitude, the sky seems to grow larger with every thousand feet. Thin, wispy clouds in the distance separate us from the approaching darkness.

This is a magnificent flight.

This is Deckk