Frankly, it was terrifying to see Korra place herself in the pilot's seat of a biplane. He'd seen her drive, and he couldn't exactly forbid her from taking the wheel, but every ride with her seemed to take years off his life. She had her heart set on this though. Since Miss Sato had begun testing and refining the designs of the Equalist airplanes, Korra had been talking about finding a chance to take a flight herself. Even though it didn't appeal to him at all, he hadn't argued because he assumed that she meant to ride while another person piloted. No. She had no intention of letting someone else do what she called 'the fun part.'
He knew better than to try to convince her it was a bad idea. When she had the bit between her teeth like this, opposition would only make her more determined. Miss Sato had seemed comfortable with Korra's piloting abilities, but it took all his willpower not to point out how many of his personal Satomobiles he'd had to replace in the last year. He privately reassured himself that if the worst happened, Korra's airbending skills were only improving. Or perhaps the Avatar State would come into play. Or she might even figure out that trick of flying with firebending he'd seen a few people use.
Fortunately, all his worries were for nothing. The plane took off, the plane landed. His heart had clenched at every wobble he could see in its wings, but nobody else watching with him had seemed concerned. Well he certainly knew almost nothing about airplanes, so perhaps he could trust in their expertise. Still, the sooner this was over, the happier he would be. He was the first to greet Korra when she jumped down to the ground, and he couldn't help smiling at the sparkle in her eyes. She bubbled over with excitement and was talking almost too fast to understand, and he kept up his murmurs of encouragement as she spoke. It was only when he caught something about, "When you take a flight with me," that he felt his heart sink like a stone.