Daniel Bailey

"We didn't see this particular bear, but as we flew around the other side of the island we spotted a couple of big males."

"The skiing itself was pretty good, the powder was a little heavy, but, of course, the whole experience was awesome."

Sometimes you get lucky with a day that's both sunny and windless. These photographs were taken on one of those days.

After doubling his hours, a pilot takes a look back.

On Saturday Daniel H. Bailey flew a Civil Air Patrol training mission out over Beluga Lake and the Triumvirate Glacier. Here are the pictures he shot.

While on a week-long trip back to Fort Collins, Colo., I took a flight lesson with a good friend of mine who happens to be a certified flight instructor.

Trying to photograph anything in Alaska this close to the shortest day of the year is challenging.

It's the little things that trigger those memories for me, like how well the plane climbs out in the cold dense air.

Almost one year to the day after having my very first flight lesson, I found myself with an opportunity to begin training in the bigger plane and work towards my high performance endorsement.

I had to rely on the wind sock and the feeling of how the aircraft handled on final approach to tell me what was going on outside.

I've really been looking forward to autumn, just so that I could go flying and see the fall colors from the air

My three most recent flights took place in slightly challenging conditions, and they were all great learning experiences.