The Geometry Of Flight

About this piece

Four United States Air Force jets bank together, their overlapping wings forming a descending diagonal against an uninterrupted blue sky. Sunlight catches the white fuselages and cockpit canopies, while red accents and drifting smoke give the tightly ordered composition a sense of speed and precision.

The story

On the first day of the year, four aircraft draw a measured arc through blue air. Light flashes on their canopies, and red wing tips punctuate the pale sweep of metal. The spaces between them seem as carefully shaped as the wings themselves. Behind the formation, smoke loosens into irregular ribbons, allowing the sky to reclaim each passing line.