Thank you, Gravity.

Convention has it that we applaud at the end of a flight—but then shouldn’t we give standing ovations during takeoff, if only as a nod to the mathematicians and physicists who toyed and perfected the art of the flight.

Sure, controlled falling (landing) is cool, but pushing metal planes into the sky seems remarkable in comparison.

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to see my hometown from above. I set off with good friends Nick (the pilot), and Yuni on a clear Tuesday afternoon to see Toronto, and southern Ontario.

Gravity is an incredible constraint—but we’ve learned to use its constraints to build machines that can create pressure differentials. And what can we do with pressure differentials? We can create lift! Lift ultimately allow us to reach thousands of feet in the sky.

The following images will hopefully give you a good visual census of Toronto.

Thanks, Gravity.