The snow-covered Rockies below you

The stars above you

Another plane whizzing by in the distance the opposite direction at the most amazing speed ever

Icebergs that I'll never never see from the ground

Little cars and houses at take-off and landing, like you're on the Peter Pan ride at DisneyWorld and the world is just a toy under you

Enjoyed Seat 2A's pictures upthread, and I agree. Nothing beats flying into the sunset with all sorts of towering cloud formations below you. I get a nice extended sunset view on my typical Thursday afternoon westbound transcons

Sitting in the cockpit of an Air Force C-17 that is rotating out of RIA, watching Africa slip away as we head out over the Atlantic.

The Rockies in/out of LAX. The snow line is cool, the desert on one side and the forests on the other.

The orderly villages coming into FRA.

The Alps.

The lush British country side on approach into LHR in June.

Heading home after a week away working, flying over our home minutes before landing and knowing I'll be there soon.

Flying transatlantic, looking out and seeing Greenland.

Some amazing conversations with fellow passengers, from the NZ Prime Minister to normal people, each with stories to tell.

Seeing another plane fly past nearby, seeing it shoot by at amazing speeds.

And I always get a window seat as I just love watching amazing sights.

Landing for me and the accomplishment I feel because I am a fearful flyer and I know I didn't let it stop me. Its especially true when I land in the US and I then see my parents greeting their grandkids who have grown up 3000 miles away from them.

Oh my, what haven't I seen - OK, A LOT!

But some of the most memorable -

Ireland and the Irish Sea, it's truly the "Emerald Isle"...
England from the air looks like a patchwork blanket...
NYC on decent - it's truly a HUGE city...
Scores of Windmills, the size of skyscrapers off of Holland...
"It's full of Stars..."

and one of my 'I'll remember it to my dying day' sights - the Amazon basin at Sunrise on a trip to Argentina...

Flying in to the Kampala Uganda airport at night. Only a few lights on the ground in this bustling city. Being aware that this will be a completely different experience than flying into Europe. Breathless.

Ecstacy of flying
 

I have often said that when I reach heaven, God will grant me a day, the most ideal day for me by:

Allow me to fly to my heart's content during the day, spend the evening on a dinner date with Miss Universe (currently my bride !), and finish it off with a book from Robert Ludlum.

For those who are afraid of flying, perhaps you may want to take a ride in a sail plane / a glider with an instructor.

Other than parachuting this comes closest to feeling like a bird. Soon you forget everything, see the wings of your sailplane as extensions of your arms and just float. FREE as a bird.

The thought of an airplane without any power source (engine) is daunting. It is VERY safe . Totally exhilerating.

I am equally content to be a passenger and fly commercial airliners. Matter of fact dis a lot of flying this January to earn my AA EXP. Now off to China!

Some years ago I was working out of town on a consulting job that required 13+ hour days. My entire team ate all 3 meals at the client site and went to the hotel to shower and sleep for a few hours. After working several consecutive weekends we finally had one off. On the flight back to Chicago I had a window seat and was napping but woke up as the plane was descending over Lake Michigan. Laid out before me in the darkness, but still a distance away, was the Chicago skyline, lit up and magnificent. After 22 days in a hotel it was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen.

^^

I remember taking my then 3 year old to pick my mother up at TUS, pre 9-11 when anyone could go to the gate. My daughter was perched on my shoulders and saw my mom as she stepped off the plane. My daughterlet out a joyful "OMA!"

I set her down and she took of through all the other pax and latched onto my mom's leg and wouldn't let go.

Sorry if she tripped any of you.:)

The first time I ever saw the sprawl of Sao Paulo from the air. I'd never seen a city like it.

Flying westbound out of ATL, during the summer months as it is just getting dark, and you pass the towering thunderstorms of the midwest. Alive with purple streaks of lightening, the sky a luminous shade of dark blue, the clouds themsleves tinged by the moon shining above them with the fury of an electric Hell below them. A glass of wine or whatever beverage you choose and soft music playing in your headphones. This is why I fly.

My first sailplane flight
 

My first sailplane flight:

Gliding in Poland - takeoff onboard sailplane in Miedzybrodzie Zywieckie (Beskidy mountains)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec7QN7a7Nyk (video)

Grass field landing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQXyE29LoXc (video)

Coming into Cairo at sunset and seeing the Great Pyramids ...

How I used to feel flying back into Phoenix at night. I'd be coming home, usually really tired, and I'd watch the blackness of the desert give way to the first lights and then the urban sprawl of my home. It was fun trying to pick out the freeways from the air to figure out where I was, knowing I'd be home in my own bed in just a few minutes.