What did I get myself into? As we roll onto the runway at Dayton/Wright Brothers Airport in Ohio, I can see the white markings pass beneath our feet and the chassis bouncing on two nosewheels. Earplugs and a headset inside the military-surplus helmet I'm wearing barely dampen the din of two air boat propellers chopping the air behind us. I'm cinched into a four-point harness, but as the air billows in my coat sleeves the closest corollary I can think of is riding a motorcycle. Or, I imagine, being strapped to the roof of a train. Soon, the pavement drops from under our feet and my brain struggles to assimilate this sensory barrage. It seems impossible that this scaffold of cables and struts could share the sky with the birds, but we continue climbing. Out of ground effect, the air supports us, and the wings hold steady. I remember to breathe and start to trust the machine. This thing really can fly. 52 AOPA PILOT / September 2024