Solar Eclipse Travel by Aircraft Cartoons

Keep to your side: eFlights which mix eclipse viewing with just flight seeing tours are crazy in concept but have been done to save costs when flying about the poles. Flight seers get to see the polar regions from the comfort of a jet airliner and watch eclipse chasers go nuts when the eclipse takes place. On some flights, an enforcer that keeps people on their sides would be a good idea, at least that was my experience.

Contrails: When eFlights get too plentiful they cause contrails to build up around the eclipse.

Super Sonic Transport: Concorde was used in 1973 for a record eclipse run. It paced the super sonic speed of the lunar shadow for over an hour while covering Africa. The problem was a simple lack of window space, it had small windows. Special holes for instruments were added at the bequest of astronomers however none were big enough to really look through.

Back up travel: Getting to a clear sky location by airplane chartered at the last second can come with perils. Make sure you bring your own GPS and a good map, plus allocate some extra time if needed.

Space Flight: Seeing an eclipse from space may sound attractive but in reality one would not gain a very long eclipse experience. The reason is simple. You would be traveling too fast. The key is to match the speed of the lunar shadow as it moves in front of the Earth and an orbiting space craft, or even a sub orbital craft would be moving several times too fast. Super sonic jets would work better.

Orbital Selfie: Getting a selfie in front of an eclipse is a bad idea. What if the flash goes off? Your blinded and cannot see the eclipse very well. And you would be looking the wrong way.

Doing a selfie, in space, is absurd.

Rocket Launch: Want to chase totality from space? That opportunity may come about some day, just make sure the launch facility knows what they are doing and that older equipment is not involved.

Rocket Sled: Extreme eclipse chasers! Rocket sled launch at the right speed would work. Or wouldn't it?