Jim Carson

Mt. St. Helens, March 2002

It's been exciting reading about Mt. St. Helens Two years ago, I did an aerial photo safari around the mountain and was impressed at the level of eruption evidence still visible 20+ years later. (see also: 1, 2).

This photo was taken at 9,000', circling the mountain counter-clockwise. For those who are curious, an airplane can be "trimmed up" so it will fly straight and level without any pilot input. (Think of this like driving a car on cruise control on a long stretch of flat highway.) Turns can be accomplished by applying my feet to the rudder pedals. Although there was a small window on the left side that I could poke the camera through, I didn't use it. Instead, I banked the plane slightly to the left so the right wing obscured the glare on the cockpit glass.