Inspired by the Elemental Forces of the Sea and Sky and their Beauty

Having been born into a home on the ocean’s beach, my life has been washed and lifted by the most elemental natural forces. The sounds, sights, and moods of the sea and the sky above it have forever formed my tempo drumbeat, creating and validating dreams and expectations, opportunities and results, and imbuing my days with such exultant joy.

A vignette, perhaps? Now seven decades later, I still palpably recall a wee-hours night as an elementary school-age boy, awakened in my top bunk amidst the incessant crack of breaking waves, the whooshing advance and retreat of the swells across the sand. Moonlight from the setting orb, angled just so, reflecting off the sea outside my window and showering gleefully dancing wavelets on the ceiling, daring me to reach up and try to grasp the shimmering prisms. Nature, physics, and fancy are intertwined, a dreamscape yet real. The life force of the sea, a core lesson on its moods, rhythmically carrying me on then and still now.

I frolicked the ocean daily, tested and buoyed by its elemental forces. Early on, lessons learned about the power and majesty of the sea and the sky has taught me the hubris of seeking to overpower those elements. But why try? Better to feel the moods, to be the yin of their yang, to discern their thrust and parry and go with that flow. And how beautiful the experience to be in resonance with the elements.

The sea and the sky are just different states of the same thing, liquid or vapor. The physics of hydrodynamics and aerodynamics, variations on a theme. The response of foils—surfboards or wings— in either element is the same, the thrumming feel to my body in motion in the water or aloft agreeably the same, as are the responses to control forces to change or maintain direction, to define the energy state of body, boat, surfboard… or plane.

As a water person, it’s only natural that I would find myself at home aloft, advantaging the sea’s physics in the sky with which I have been reveling for nearly sixty years. Of course, learning to fly and advancing in aviation involved much study and practice in the traditional sense, but for me, I always had the advantage of being in my element since my youthful oceanic play. For instance, meteorology involves knowing about pressure and temperature, wind direction and velocity, air masses, moisture content, and vertical stability. But it is instinctive for me to know that wind, its velocity, and direction as it approaches a ridge line, will rise and fall just like a swell approaching a reef, pitching up and then swirling into a downdraft exactly like the frothing white water of the broken wave racing to the shore. Aloft I read the atmosphere’s signs in the clouds, in the aircraft’s motions and ergonomic feel, being alert to the airspeed and control forces and the sounds—not just abstractions, but directly connecting with the physical atmospheric power that has to be respected and savoring an appreciation at the beauty of that power.

I have over a half-century of experience as a pilot, but also many years as a flight instructor, a check airman codifying pilots’ skill sets, and, importantly, in all of these tasks, as a mentor to others as they explore their dance with flight. Not just the nuts and bolts of control applications, or navigational devices and such, but reading the bigger picture and understanding the whys and why nots in addition to the hows. And that is driven by the long habit of seeing the atmospheric ocean just as I do the sea itself, both truly BIG pictures.

This philosophical leaning satisfies my zen aloft, adding confirmation and oneness to the airborne experience. And shared with passengers or fellow crewmembers, it bonds us to one another and the elements, often turning passengers’ uncertainty into gleeful smiles, as with this selfie from an Angel Flight West mission, our passenger caught up in the joy and beauty of flight, the demands of her illness lost to the moment within the cabin and the view outside our windows, us serenely drifting by those puffy clouds, the stuff of countless daydream adventures.

Each day I look to the sea and the sky, at one with them, and give thanks that I have the good fortune to commune with those elements and often to share them with those who join me there.

About Thomas Close:

As a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight West, Thomas Close has always been deeply connected to the fluid environment. Born and raised on the beach, Thomas has a lifelong grounding in the sea and the sky. This connection has shaped Thomas's approach to life and leadership, teaching him the importance of understanding and working with the elements rather than trying to overpower them. Thomas began his career as a surfer, learning to read the sea from a young age and developing the skills to navigate its moods and power. These skills have served Thomas well in his role as a pilot, where he has flown passengers for over half a century.

In both roles, Thomas has demonstrated a keen understanding of the importance of safety and the ability to revel in the majesty of the elements. As a leader with Angel Flight West, Thomas brings this same mindset and skillset to every aspect of their work. He understands that the sea and the sky are two states of the same thing and that hydrodynamics and aerodynamics are just variations on a theme. Thomas approaches each challenge with a sense of humility and respect for the power of the elements, always striving to find beauty and enjoyment in every moment.

About Angel Flight West:

Angel Flight West, a 501c3 nonprofit, is a volunteer-driven organization that arranges no-cost, non-emergency air travel for children and adults with severe medical conditions and other compelling needs.

Every day, Angel Flight West’s volunteer pilots fly people to their medical appointments at no cost to the passenger. Angel Flight West has spent nearly four decades—and provided more than 95,000 flights—creating pathways to healthcare across the Western United States, arranging donated flights to people in need, and providing them safe passage to and from medical care. With a network of 1,600+ pilots throughout the 12 western states, pilots donate their aircraft, piloting skills, and all flying costs to help families in need, enabling them to receive vital treatment that might otherwise be inaccessible.

https://www.angelflightwest.org/