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When driving over the William Powell
bridge there is a beautiful view of Miami to the North and Key Biscayne
to the South. Many cars, especially those driven by tourists, slow
down to take in the view. Some cars actually stop in the lane to
take a picture, but nothing temporarily slows down traffic faster than
an ultralight aircraft flying 50 feet over the cars and bridge preparing
to land. When the wind is just right, the ultralights will make their
final approach parallel to the bridge. It is really quite a sight
and one that never gets old.
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The aircraft mingle with boats in
and around the channels at the Miami Marine Stadium, which is the old graffitti
covered stadium next to the Rusty Pelican resturant and Rickenbacker Marina.
The pilot will wait until the wind conditions are just right, the coast
is clear and there are no boats, swimmers or scuba divers in the area.
The engine revs up and the small pontoon boat with two seats and wings
starts to push through the water, then skip through the water, then lightly
skim over the water's surface, then it is airbourne to freely view the
scenery from the best view in the house.
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Many of the pilots will then sightsee
along the mangroves off of Key Biscayne or land for a few minutes to catch
up with friends on one of the many sandbars around Key Biscayne.
Flying high or flying low, planes will run along the coast of Key Biscayne
and then head straight over to South Beach and will be there in a
minute. The planes and pilots will also get together for club
outings where they will fly over to Boca Chita and then over to Key Largo
for an afternoon of fun. The neatest part of this is that almost
anyone can be taught to fly in a relatively short period of time.
Tours of Key Biscayne and South Beach are also available so if you just
want to go up for an hour or two of unprecedented views, show up.
Do prepare to get wet. On takeoffs and landings, there is little
protective barrier between you and the water. You will get about
as wet flying in one of these aircraft as you would on Splash mountain
at Disney World.
The beauty of this is that there are no
lines and waiting in line to go up and how many people can really say that
they flew over the beaches of Key Biscayne and South Beach in an ultralight?
 
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Key
Biscayne Ultralight Photogallery>>>
Key
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