Pic of the Day: Small Plane Warning

I have flown pretty much the entire spectrum of airliners in use by American airline carriers, and a few international ones. Boeing, Airbus, CRJs and Embraer. And I think a Cessna, once. In Alaska.

Big jets (747, A380), small ones (CRJ700, MD80), and almost  everything in-between. Each of them has their own personality, and each of them contributes something different to the in-flight experience.

But there is a sense of adventure -- fear? -- in flying a smaller aircraft. Particularly when it's a blustery day.

Below is a shot of the plane I took from Salt Lake City to Pocatello, Idaho. Pocatello is among the smallest of airports I've been to in the last few years, if not the champion. But it does echo more of a byegone era of commercial aviation when you enter a small terminal and march out directly onto the Tarmac to board a small plane. (It's a balancing act Long Beach Airport manages even today with significantly larger aircraft, while still reminding you of the adventure of flight in general.)

Small aircraft are not my first choice, but they do always promise that the trip will be a bit of an adventure.