In fine weather, I can think of no better Cape Cod tour than a sightseeing flight with Stick’n Rudder Aero Tours, ideally in its Waco YMF-5 biplane. Excursions depart from the Chatham Municipal Airport, less than a 10-minute drive from the recommended Wequassett Resort and Golf Club. We booked the 30-minute Clam Digger tour, a Lower Cape ellipse that felt like enough, but the longer 55-minute Great White tour circles as far north as Provincetown (the 15-minute option would be quite short).

We climbed into the front open-air cockpit, which had room for just my traveling companion and me, and our pilot, Silas, sat behind us. He knew all the potential points of anxiety, noting, for example, that the plane’s nose would briefly dip down as the plane lifted off from the runway.

Just as important, he provided engaging commentary throughout our flight via headsets. He pointed out landmark buildings, oyster farms and even the shoreline of distant Nantucket. As we flew over one expensive-looking bluff-top home, Silas told us that it would soon have to be moved, or erosion would cause it to collapse. Elsewhere, he drew our attention to a set of sandbars. They used to be an island with a small town, but erosion claimed it as well. All that remains now is a portion of the (ineffective) sea wall.