Your Black & White Biplane adventure begins as soon as you arrive at Santa Monica's premier aviation services company - the prestigious Atlantic Aviation Terminal. Atlantic's facilities cater mostly to the highest-end private jet traffic, and Black & White Biplane is proud to offer our services based at Atlantic. There is no finer aviation company in the world, and you will be received where the passengers and pilots of the world's most special and expensive aircraft operate. You will meet your pilot and be escorted to the Black & White biplane. Your pilot will acquaint you with the WACO and how it works and what about it and its history make it so special. There will also be a briefing on safety procedures.
Next you will climb up on the wing and enter the front cockpit. You will be seated on the leather seats, behind the varnished wood instrument panel, something not seen in aircraft since the 1930s. You will be strapped in and wear the traditional flying helmets, which contain the headsets that will enable you to communicate with the pilot throughout your time in the airplane.
The sense of adventure will heighten when the 275 horsepower engine roars to life, and your adrenaline begins to flow right along with it. As we taxi out to the runway you will monitor all communications between the pilot and tower, and you will as well be able to speak freely with the pilot. You will share everything that is happening.
Before take-off, the pilot will run the engine up to a light roar for some checks, and you'll feel the airplane shudder with power. Once the tower clears the WACO for take-off, the airplane will line up on the centerline of the runway.
Now the real fun begins - the engine is throttled all the way up to full power, and the gorgeous Jacobs radial engine roars to life. The biplane lifts off the ground, and the adventure is underway as Santa Monica drops beneath us and the ocean comes into view. Departing Santa Monica, and depending on which flight you've chosen, we head towards the Santa Monica Bay before turning towards LAX for an overhead view of one of the busiest airports in the world on our way to the bustling harbor at Long Beach, with the Queen Mary at dock and heavily-laden freighters plying the waters, or perhaps west and north towards world-famous Malibu and Point Dume. Or we might head downtown for a look at the city and the skyscrapers, with a turn near the hollywood Sign on the way back. Or we can combine some of these different sights in longer flights. When we return to Santa Monica Airport you can bask in the experience at the Typhoon restaurant overlooking the runway as the sun sets.
