It's one of those truly precious moments that you rarely encounter in life. In winter 2021, almost the entire world is in the tight grip of CoVID-19. Germany is dragging its way through the second lockdown, unnecessary travel is prohibited, you are only allowed to travel a few km from your place of residence without a good reason... The weather is doing its part to dampen the mood, a cold, wet, uniform gray has prevailed over the landscape for days. And me? I can be up here. Far away from all the madness in this world. The radio is silent because the lockdown also means airlines are staying on the ground. My wingman and I glide wordlessly through the calm evening air. I look around, trying to absorb every second of this moment. Right now, 15km above the earth, with only the clouds below me slowly turning red from the setting evening sun, I am truly free.
I breathe in and out slowly again, then I press the radio button: "Langen Radar, MSTANG 1, ready for descent." "MSTANG 1, inbound Nörvenich descend 7,000 feet on QNH 998, Nörvenich is landing runway 24, color state RED RED, tempo AMBER." Reality catches up with me. Persistent sleet is pushing weather conditions to the minimum. It's time to leave this wonderful place and descend back into the cold gray of reality. But I know: I will soon be able to climb again and escape the gray for a while.
"Above Things"
Gerald Groß