WGN Morning News Blog

As the traffic reporter, I get a lot of questions about flying in Skycam 9. Is it scary? Do you like it? Do you get nervous? Do you fly in bad weather? What's it like?

Well, well, well...let me answer those burning questions many of you may have.

NO, FLYING IS NOT SCARY.
I LOVE FLYING.
I DON'T GET NERVOUS.
NO, WE DO NOT FLY IN BAD WEATHER.
IT'S AN AWESOME VIEW OF A GREAT CITY.

There....that pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. I will give you a little more detail though now. I had never flown in a helicopter before this job. As a matter of fact, I went through the whole interview process, even accepted the gig, without ever once going up in Skycam 9. Brave, hun???? Yeah, I know. I was just so happy to get to WGN, I would do just about anything.

I remember my first day flying. I got in the chopper, sat down, put on my seatbelt, said hello to the pilot and photographer, and then we took off. I did not look out my left window at all. I only looked over the pilot, out of his window. He sits on the right and I sit on the left. The camera guy sits in the back. There's windows all around me, even at my feet. That way we can see down below. I think it took me two days to finally look out of my window. I guess I thought if I looked out of my window I was going to fall out because it's just that open. Imagine being on an airplane and instead of having that little window to look out of, there is a window that stretches from the ceiling of the aircraft to the floor. It's wild, but something I quickly learned to love. Now, nothing bothers me in Skycam 9. I don't even get sick. Every once in a blue moon, I feel a little queasy, but nothing too bad.

Besides doing my job and giving the traffic reports, my favorite thing is to look at cool houses from the air. It's the best view. I've checked out mansions, celebrity homes, and watched houses be built from the ground up. I also love flying over my own house from time to time to say hello to my husband and 4 year old daughter. They come out on our bedroom balcony when they hear me coming and wave. It's so sweet.

My least favorite thing is flying over Lake Michigan. While I really do trust the pilot(he's the best, lots of experience, knows the Chicago land area like the back of his hand) I just don't care for flying over the lake. It just gives me the creeps. I should mention, I can't swim. That might have a lot to do with it. Mike, the pilot, assures me all the time, that if something were to happen to the engine over the water, the chopper has enough back up whatever, to allow us to land. He was talking technical aviation stuff to me and I tuned him out. Anyway, I guess the next adventure for me would be to tackle swim lessons!!!!!!!!!! If I can go up in a chopper everyday, I should be able to learn how to swim, right?!?!?!?

See ya!See ya!