Flight of the 400: By Joey Salvo

Looking out at the intricate ice of the Artic

It was an exciting Wednesday morning, at 4:00 A.M., when we (that is to say, my parents and I) left our home in the U.S. to begin our long journey to the other side of the planet! Of course, none of us had really gotten any sleep in the previous few hours of the night, and could you blame us? So we were all exhausted as we left the house, and headed for our car. After a while we arrived at the Albany International Airport, and strode down to our gate to wait in tense silence. No, this flight would not take us to China, but it would take us to Washington, where we would transfer. It was all part of the journey.

We were going to see the Beijing Olympics, however this was not our first time to China. In a way, this fact made it all the more exiting, as we knew that some incredible experience was awaiting us, and that we would never forget this trip. We would be making capital bounces; first from Albany, the capital of New York, then to Washington D.C., the capital of the U.S., and finally to Beijing, the capital of China! We were well stocked with books, DVDs, computer games, playing cards, and lots and lots of emergency back-up candy. Luckily, all of this wasn’t as heavy as you might think, and we easily carried the “foes of boredom” with us onto each of the flights.

At last, it was time for the flight to Beijing! We were loaded onto the plane, and waited, while hundreds of other travelers took their places in a designated seat. This obviously took a very long time, and the excitement died down a little. Then the last passenger was seated, and we were ready to go. Now being that this was a 747-400, the airplane was quite large, and it was amazing to think that this thing would actually fly. For a long time I had aspired to ride on a 747-400, and now, I finally had the chance! Oh yes, I had ridden on a plain old 747-300, but those were smaller. This was the real thing!

We set out for the runway, and the excitement returned once more. Now we had arrived on the runway. I could have sworn that the pilot was gunning the engine, anticipating takeoff as much as the passengers. Then, the time came. There was a hissing sound that grew into a soft whine. We started out pretty slowly at first, but then gradually our speed increased. The airport flew past us outside. Faster, faster! I saw the wing out my window wobble a bit. Faster now! Were we coming to the end of the runway? Was this gigantic hunk of metal going to ascend into the air, or crash off the end?! Faster! Faster! The outside of the plane was a blur. And then…LIFTOFF!!!

Our plane surged upward, cutting through the wind as it went! Soon we were hundreds of feet up! Thousands now! Up and up we went, leaving the airport in our exhaust! We were continuing to climb! We were flying! The clouds rushed past, leaving us in a thin mist. We were through the clouds now, and could see a little of the large city below, now much smaller looking than it had been previously! It was true! We were flying, really flying! And yet, on the other hand, no one but me seemed to care.