New York to Minneapolis via the treetops

Every now and again, we need a little reminder about what a diverse and breathlessly beautiful country the United States can be. Even its ugly parts are weirdly enthralling.

Today’s reminder comes from photographer Dave Hirschman, who occasionally ferries airplanes for a living.

This week, he flew an Aircam, owned by Twin Cities businessman Walt Fricke, the man who started the Veterans Airlift Command, which organizes volunteer pilots to shuttle veterans to wherever they need to go.

The Aircam, as the name indicates, is made for photography. It’s often used by National Geographic for many of its documentaries. So Hirschman, thankfully, didn’t pass up the opportunity to provides us with a New York City to Minneapolis view of the world below.

It’s also a slow bird, so it took a total of 19 flight hours from the time he left New York on Saturday to his arrival at Crystal airport on Monday evening, when — he reported — it was already too dark and rainy for much photography.