Today I flew NNE of KNQA about 130 miles to the point of total eclipse with a DA40 and got a spectacular view of the total eclipse. I was with my wife and a buddy flying copilot.

I filed IFR to a point called VERTS and indicated "Maneuvers to 10nm north" in the comments. No problems from ATC. They were great in spite of the overwhelming amount of traffic in the area. Filing made it easy. There were some cumulus buildups in the area that probably ruined the view on the ground. Up at 10,000, it was perfect.

Here's a link to some pictures we took. Most are taken with a long lense and a pro model Nikon, the rest, cell phone. The sun pictures required flying in a 45 bank. Pictures just cannot do justice to the occasion though. It's one of those things that human eyes need to witness to really understand the glory and majesty of the natural world.

https://goo.gl/photos/ibotv2PHvBSvBFeUA

The DA40 is a great airplane. It's solid, stable, easy to fly and has all the cool toys like G1000 and GFC700 autopilot.

That's really a great shot John!

This was my favorite:

Total eclipse moments away. Foreground clouds are still in the sun, background clouds are in total eclipse. In the distance, a false sunset.

Nice shots, John!

Wow, absolutely wow. Thanks.