I've never seen the bridge from this angle. For a driver, the bridge's long light of red brake lights signals a commuting nightmare — but from my vantage point, it just looks cool.

Funny what a change of perspective accomplishes, right?

An automotive corollary to Murphy's Law would be that your journey will definitely be more miserable today than it was yesterday. So how's this for a disruption? Flying for fun. Fewer rules. No TSA or security lines and little to no communication with authorities such as air traffic control. Have wings, will travel.

Following the broad lines of a sun-dappled Hudson River, my tiny two-seat aircraft is heading south toward the spires of the Financial District, a schlep that would take the gridlocked drivers below an agonizingly long time.