spouse's flight

Last Thursday was the annual Spouse's flight where all the wives get to take a C-17 flight just for fun. I was pretty nervous I was going to get air sick, but my stomach pleasantly surprised me and I had such a fun time. I knew it was a powerful air plane, but I was NOT expecting just how powerful it actually was. When the pilots hit the throttle (I'm not a pilot, so excuse my vernacular) for take off, we all jolted about 8 inches sideways. I was laughing so hard. Our legs were in the air and the look of sheer shock was on the girls' faces, not mine! I was enjoying it too much. Above is the view when I went in to the cock-pit during the flight. Below and above where I was holding my camera are two bunk beds for sleeping on long flights for the pilots.
The two pilots were "hilarious" during their flight. When you put on the headset they would say, "it would help if I knew how to read charts," etc. Oh gosh. Not what you want to hear when you're DIVING into a canyon with water. I watch Lost though; I know how to survive a plane wreck. So don't worry.
At times I would get up and walk to the little port-hole windows to glance out and sometimes I would have to reassure myself that these guys DID know what they were doing because we would be SO close to the mountains. So close you could see the branches and animals and everything in detail. With a plane this big, you wouldn't think it could get SO close to the ground during low-levels. These planes do low-levels at 200 feet! Can you believe it? And this is while flying through canyons and dodging mountains like this one: 
Alright, maybe not like this one, because there are only 2 of these monster-mountains in the world. This is Mt. McKinley up close and personal. Here is a partial-view of the HUD (Heads Up Display) that the pilots get to use. A lot of the equipment on the C-17 is from the F-15s, like the HUD and also the stick they use to direct the plane. It is the only Heavy plane that uses a stick like the fighter planes. The pilots love it, and I wasn't expecting such a huge plane has such power and maneuverability. 
When I got done with the flight, I called Mark and told him he has the coolest job in the world. I know it hasn't always been fun for him, with all the endless hours of studying he's had to do, all the scary dollar-rides and intimidating stand-ups, etc., and I'm not even mentioning the heck he experienced at the Air Force Academy. He really has pushed himself. I'm really proud of him, and wish I could be a pilot too! Without having to study. That's why they have spouse's flights! So we can bypass the studying and still have the fun.