I am an aviation enthusiast, and I have always wanted to see one fly.
In April, I was down on Okrakoke on the beach with bunch of friends, and I heard something behind me and turned to see an Osprey buzzing overhead at high speed at maybe 500-1000 feet.
What astonished me was how I didn’t even hear the thing until it was so close I couldn’t get my camera out of my pocket before it was overhead and passing.
If that had been any helicopter, I have no doubt you would have heard it coming for five minutes. You would have been able to spot exactly where you were going to visually pick it up.
Then, It banked and came around stopping, and vertically landing at the Okrakoke airport just up the street from Howard’s Pub. Then it took off, disappeared, and then reappeared repeating the landing at the airport five or ten more times!
I had an aviation woody! I know it must be old hat to you, but I would love to be near some military aviation.
How did you enjoy Ocracoke? April’s a little early, I’d imagine the crowds were sort of thin. In high season it’s tough to drive a car through town for all the pedestrians and cyclists. Howard’s Pub is hard to get into then, even the rooftop bar is full. The best beaches are out the old sand Beach Road, you need a 4WD to get to them. I always try to have breakfast at least once at Pony Island, usually the morning I’m headed back home.
I’m here near Surf City, NC it’s a normal sight today.
My son fly’s in them and copters all the time as they run exercises everyday.