{"id":5023,"date":"2018-12-21T12:45:45","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T17:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=5023"},"modified":"2019-01-28T13:21:37","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T18:21:37","slug":"travel-sky-high-fun-sevierville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-sky-high-fun-sevierville\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel  | Sky high fun in Sevierville"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By Debi Lander<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mail@floridanewsline.com<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Old style leather flying helmet on my head, goggles over my eyes, and a scarf wrapped around my neck: I&#8217;m ready to take flight, feeling like Amelia Earhart and those 1920s barnstormers. Actually, I am ready for my photo op. Pilot Marc Hightower at Sky High Air Tours, based in Sevierville\u2019s Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge Regional Airport, snaps my pic. <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then he says, \u201cIf you\u2019d like you can take off the helmet and let the wind blow through my hair.\u201d I do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marc instructs me about the biplane and plans for a circuitous flight over historic Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I anxiously sit in the 1927 Model 10 WACO Straight Wing\u00a0biplane waiting for the miracle of flight. Marc took three-and-a-half years to rebuild the aircraft, his baby, and the engine was fully overhauled. I am more reassured knowing that he has been flying visitors in this area for the past seven years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Headphones allow me to hear the control tower and communicate with the pilot. Air traffic controllers clear us for takeoff and this flying machine lifts with ease on its feather-light fabric covered wings. To me, aeronautics remains a mystery, but I am tingling with glee as we ascend. I don\u2019t just feel the breeze blowing through my hair; I feel the wind beneath my wings. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marc\u2019s voice comes through the headphones, muted yet comforting. He points out areas of interest: \u201cThere\u2019s the clock tower on the courthouse in downtown Sevierville.\u201d The spot has become an Instagram icon, beckoning people from all over the world to pose in front of the bronze statue of Dolly Parton. Dolly\u2019s considered Sevierville\u2019s favorite daughter, pretty much responsible for tourism and thousands of jobs in the region. She funds a reading program for preschoolers and contributed millions to nearby Gatlinburg residents who lost their homes in the 2017 wildfires. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The struts or wing supports partially obstruct my view, but I\u2019m feeling the glorious freedom and connection with the sky, remarkably different from sitting in a pressurized cabin of a jet. We fly like birds, low and slow about 1,200 feet and 90 miles per hour. I spy the sprawling Wilderness in the Smokies Resort, the hotel\u2019s water park easily identifiable and many cabins available for rent. We pass over the upscale Tangier Outlet Mall that attracts thousands of happy shoppers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taking photos becomes a challenge, but I want to document the experience. When you twist your upper body to the side, a sharp blast of air hits you. Whoa! Be sure to put the camera strap around your neck and restrain your sunglasses. Slowly, the plane circles around mist that looks like smoke rising from the mountains \u2014 the reason they were named the Smoky Mountains. Then, I get a head-on peek at Dollywood and the amusement rides. A family can have some serious fun in Sevierville. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I want to linger, but introductory biplane rides only last about 20 minutes. We fly lower as we head back toward the airport. Before long we descend and roll down the runway. My open cockpit ride is over way too soon, but I was literally blown away with my step back to the Golden Age of Aviation. Like Charles A. Lindbergh said, &#8220;Sometimes, flying feels too godlike to be attained by man. Sometimes, the world from above seems too beautiful, too wonderful, too distant for human eyes to see.&#8221; I must agree. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Visit www.skyhighairtours.com for more information.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Visit <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bylandersea.com\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">www.bylandersea.com<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to read more of local travel writer Debi Lander\u2019s stories and travel tips.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Photo courtesy Debi Lander<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The author at her photo shoot before the biplane ride.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com Old style leather flying helmet on my head, goggles over my eyes, and a scarf wrapped around my neck: I&#8217;m ready to take flight, feeling like Amelia Earhart and those 1920s barnstormers. Actually, I am ready for my photo op. Pilot Marc Hightower at Sky High Air Tours, based in Sevierville\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,4],"tags":[9],"class_list":{"0":"post-5023","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"category-mandarin","9":"category-ponte-vedra","10":"tag-travel"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Travel | Sky high fun in Sevierville - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com Old style leather flying helmet on my head, goggles over my eyes, and a scarf wrapped around my neck: I&#039;m ready to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-sky-high-fun-sevierville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travel | Sky high fun in Sevierville - 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