Who are you and how did you get into aviation

well, just a thought, why dont we all introduce ourselves, no?

My name is Mario and I've been fascinated with planes for as long as I can remember. Basically I grew up near one of the JFK approaches in South Ozone Park and watched planes landing just about every other day. I also like the old LIRR diesel era, which I grew up with and had access to since mom worked by the diesel engine shops. And my dad fostered the love for aviation as he took me out on the weekends to see Concorde stake off and we also went to a lot of airshows in the 70s and early 80s.

Also, AA has a soft spot in my heart. My mother even has my first flight written down in my baby book, on AA of course. I've 3 aunts who work for AA, one cousin at BA and so i'm fortunate to fly non-rev at times, even Concorde once in a while. ;)

I'm an optometrist in Lindenhurst so I'm never too far from an airport. :)
I like a good glass of red wine for my heart and love all kinds of food. I love to eat. What can I tell you?! Love to travel, take photos and write.
animals are great. right now we are looking to start a family...with a cat. I figure if we don't screw up the cat, we can start talking about kids :lol:

who are you? Why do you like planes? What's your deal?

This is where it all happened for me, back in the day when I was 7!!!!!!!

How does it go now..............., let me see....

My uncle George brought me and my cousin to the "new airport" to look around, EWR as we sort of know it today, was just re-opened in 1973 with the current Terminal A (which was and still is United's) and B. C was just a skeleton structure, not completed for many years. We took a look around. I recall seeing an anti collision light on a United 727s tail, going back and forth..........

Full of wonder, I asked my dad to go back, next weekend. And my sister got me a 110 camera!

We did. It was great parking under the terminal, kind of cool to a little kid ( and made good use of during all the return visits in bad weather)

We started going down the first satellite jet walkway in Terminal A. To my left I saw a United DC-10-10. And next to her was a DC-8-61. The 10 was in the very new at the time orange red and blue colors while the 8 was sporting the smashing "stars n bars"

Then as a sunbeam broke out across the terminal I noticed this very bright green and orange airplanes. You could not make out what it was due to my line of vision was obscured from the middle satellite walkway...

"Come on dad!" I wailed, yanking on his arm. Away we went to the last satellite. And what was it????!!! It was 2 of Braniff International's "Flying Colors" 727-200s. It was stunning! No other airplanes had the same look or different current colors, together.

So we made our way out to the out side deck that overlooked TWA and across was Terminal B, with Allegheny and Eastern. And the twin towers.

I'll never forget those early days.

I was hooked from that day.............forever!

I dived into the diecast and plastic glue together models, as well as books too.

Yearned to be a pilot, however my home life was a bit stormy and its impression on me left me feeling turned off to being away from home.

But I also loved working with my mind and hands, so looked into being a A &P jetliner mechanic. But to my surprise no one was being hired for work.

So I did a side step and was interested in the other type of compression engine, the diesel.

And that's where I am today with my own business.
Now ask me if I like it. That's a whole another story!

Mike

I always liked planes, having grown up across Flushing bay in a third floor apartment overlooking part of La Guardia Airport.

I remember taking books out of the library teaching me how to identify planes, and then sitting at my window with binoculars, writing down al the planes I saw pass. These were the days of DC-10s and L-1011s at LGA, and I wish I cherished it a little bit more.

I recall seeing the sky light up the night of USAir flight 405 as I lay in my bed. I recall watching the CO MD-80 sitting off the end of rwy 13 in 1993. all these memories before I really realized that there was a hobby to be practiced.

When I was 18 and I started working at an office in Manhattan, I took an interest in the subway. I joined a website for NYC subway enthusiasts and a member on there, who happens to be "USAF Pilot 07" here, asked me if I liked planes, and linked me to Airliners.net.

Looking at LGA photos with College Point in the background, I instantly became intrigued again, and forgot that this was something I enjoyed a lot growing up. Participation on their message boards, annoying people on there, filming aircraft with a digital video camera, eventually meeting people like Mario and Tom Turner, and it just grew.

Eventually, I got my own camera. I started an aviation newsletter (Aireola Aviation) and then this site.

I work during the day with my brother and sister as a salesman at a granite company in Westchester, and I do all my aviation-related things in my free time.

I've loved planes ever since I was very young, in fact I still can recall my father bringing me home a Fisher Price Airport and plane.

It really was my father who got me into aviation and those memories of him are the ones that stick out the most. like myself my father was a big aviation enthusiast and in-fact had his PPL and his own Cessna. Going flying with him was the greatest thrill as a young child.

I remember sitting next to the plane as he would perform various maintenance on it while Jets took off from ISP. After he passed away when I was 10 I started to read all his aviation books, my favorite which I still have today is "The lore of flight". The book is so old that it doesn't even have the 727 or DC-9 mentioned as passenger aircraft.

My mother also helped feed my love for aviation by taking me to ISP all the time. I remember being able to go right up to the gates and watch all these wonderful planes come in and out. Back then ISP saw EAL 727s, UAL 737s, AA 727s, MD-80s, Piedmont 737s, US DC-9s, and New York Air DC-9s.

One thing I found a few months back was this note pad I use to use to jot down all the planes that passed over my house during the Transatlantic arrivals slot at JFK. I use to sit on the top of my shed with my binoculars watching them pass by. Even today they still pass right over my house at about 10,000 feet. I was amazed at what I found in this note pad, PanAm 747s, TWA L1011s, Concorde, even 707s. Times really have changed.

As I got older I faded away a bit as other things entered my life as a teen. Sports took a big chunk of my time as a teen in Jr. and Sr. HS. Then as I got into my mid 20s I realized that I truly love aviation.

People ask me what is so special about watching planes. The only way I can explain it to them is that when I see a plane race down runway and lift off the ground its in its own element. On the ground a plane is slow, clumsy, and needs the help of other things to move it along. Watching a plane race down the runway and then in that special moment in time lift off the ground into the air you know its free. In that split second this machine that can't do much on the ground is free, graceful, and in its own element. In someways it reminds me of life and why its important to understand what we want out of life so we can be free, graceful and happy in our own element.

i don't know what it is exactly... i have a few ideas though.

1. have a picture of myself sitting on the beach in the rockaways pointing at concorde taking off. this was sometime in the middle 1980's.

2. found a children's bowl with an airplane in the shed house when cleaning up.

3. my parents brought me over to this country from poland onboard a Swissair IL-62.

such is my evidence...

Swissair IL-62, really???????????????????????????????

Thats new to me.

Full colors or a season charter???

wow, Phil and Mike, sems like you guys started as proper British 'planespotters'

ditto mike, where are the pics? thatd be cool :)

cheers

mario

I have prints.

Perhaps I could get a HQ scan, someday.

When I was about 10 or 11 years old and flew on Alleghany Airlines DC-9 with my mother and young brother from ROC to BDL in the 1970's. Our plane stopped at LGA or JFK (I can't remember which ones but I do remember our plane landed over the water). So, I was sitting on the aisle seat and stared at the cockpit. A beautiful flight attendant saw me and invited me and my brother to the cockpit. A captain explained about the instrustments and flight plans that time I was very quite and shy. When the tour was finished and returned to my seat. I told my mother that when I grow up and wanted to be an airline pilot. But my mother said to me, "John, I'm very sorry you can't". So, I asked her "Why?" She said, " Because you can't hear on the radio while flying an airplane." (Right now, I'm hearing impaired) So, I was very sad that I can't flying on airplane. Oh well....What a bummer!!! LOL!!!

About two years later, I was very hooked in aviation and found the different ways to enjoy my new hobby. So, I asked my father to take me to Bradley International Airport to take some photos of the planes. So far, I have about 10,000 photos since I started my new hobby in the 1970's. Also, I have almost 100 photos on airliners.net!!!

Believe it or not, I'm now 41 years old and am still an aviation photographer & spotter!!! 8)

Cheers!
John A. Perrotta

I grew up under the runway 13-31 of LGA in queens and remember watching planes as long as far back as EA Electra's and some very noisy 727-100's and DC9's I rember going to Flushing Airport to watch planes with my father and even going to JFK when they had and observation deck we always used to get a cup of lemonaid at the stand that was there. I started taking pics in the late 80's and I have many slides fron the top of the Jetport when it was still Pan-Am I remember sitting there for hours at a time shooting through the opening in the fence. I just have always like anything to do with planes.

I have been fascinated with airplanes since toddlerhood--when I was 4 my dad took us to JFK and LGA observation decks, and I was hooked. We lived near the approach path to 22L at JFK so when they were doing visuals we had planes about 1000 feet overhead (near Garden City).

My high school graduation gift from my dear Grandma was my pilot's license, which I initially completed between 1973 and 1974 at Zahns airport (now an industrial park). I took lessons from a retired cop named Joe Kuriga and a real old timer named Bernie Sherman (was old in the 70's!). I flew on and off for a few years and wound up at Flightways of Long Island's club (Farmingdale Flyers) from the late 70's to their demise. We had many fly ins and social events involving groups of airplanes. I got my complex endorsement in 1979 and flew Arrows (turbo and non), and the lone Skylane RG (never quite got the hang of a high wing landing).

I am now a regional sales manager for a digital imaging company (we make commercial grade dye sub printers), and travel approx 150K miles a year usually sitting between rows 1 and 6 of airliners. I still go out to FRG on occasion, and one of these days will get my medical back and start again.

Come to think of it I was flying before I learned how to drive--go figure!

Happy New Year to all...

Dont know how mine got started...


My mom recalls, I was deaf when I was really young. I could not hear much or anything except really loud noises. Planes would create loud noises and I would be able to hear it without my hearing aids, before I got them.

I went to the hospital in STL. I got new hearing aids, and I went outside and the first thing I heard was a TWA 747 coming over, screaming at me as it attempted to land at STL. It was ironic the first noise I hear outside is a jet plane. That must have been when the moment clicked for me. I lost interest as a child and in grade school. But after TWA 800 happened I became interested again and would start reading books, collecting plane models. It really strengthened when I found out my Great Uncle was Neil Armstrong the Astronuat, first man who stepped on the moon. So I would study NASA stuff, and yes I have met him twice. great guy, but very very private and keeps to himself. Then my cousin decided to go into the airforce and get his pilot license, so this of course peaked my interest. By High school i was FIXED and it was a given, I delcared myself an Aviaiton Nut.

Sadly due to my hearing impairment I cannot get a commercial license at the moment. So all I can do is enjoy it as a hobby with great people like you all, and maybe get a career in the aviation industry.

Alex

Having a father that flew commercially in England for a now defunct company called Hunting Clan (that eventually through a whole lot of name changes and buyouts became British Caledonian) and a grandfather that flew in WWII, aircraft have been a part of my life from a very young age. Growing up in South Africa, my dad made a lot of friends with people in South African Airways, so was very close to that and have spent a great number of landings and take off's over the years in different cockpits. Spotting I've done whereever I have lived - South Africa, then Heathrow and Gatwick in the UK, back to SA, and finally here in the US - starting at STL, then CAE and lately at PBI.

I do want to get my license at some point - my boss did it at 55, so no reason why I can't still. In the meantime, I revel in FS2004 and the PMDG payware add-ons of which I have all of them to date. I want to get to NYC at some point (and hopefully get a tower tour with Dave Schoen from over at jfktower.com) and to do some spotting in the NY area as well as visit the Concorde at USS Intrepid. Daytime job is a software developer - working on motor dealership software - the rest of the time, apart from the time spent with my wife and 21 month old grandson that we are raising (and I'm educating into airplanes as he calls them) is spent on a lot of web sites and FS2004.

Great topic Mario.

It's interesting to note, like many others here, my father was key to my developing an interest in aviation.

It was about 1967 or possibly 1968. I was about six years old and money was frequently tight in those years - not sure, but it might have been my mom that suggested my father take me out to the airport or maybe it was his idea - but anyway, I guess the notion being it might be cheap entertainment for me on one weekend day. We were Manhattanites, so it was going to be a trek on public transportation - the bus from the Port Authority to EWR.

My father had likely flown through there at some point and remembered the sole terminal (later to be known as the "North Terminal" in the People Express days) upstairs was no more than a walkway the length of the terminal with benches and an uninterrupted row of windows at least 11 feet high if not more. It looked out to the center of the ramp with two piers on either end - both of which also had outdoor observation decks.

[People often recall with fondness as do I, the loud roars of the old jets...but I can tell you it was a painful experience to be on those decks and listen to many of those jets just having their engines run. These were not roars at all, like you might still hear during an airshow with fighter jets...these were high pitched whines and screams. No one could last out side very long without ear plugs with one of these jets at a nearby gate. ]

Eastern had a large operation with the outer side of the Eastern pier - DC-9s, The then NEW stretch DC-8, 727-100s, and Constellations and Electras as daily staples.

A mix of American (with 727-100s, and 707-100s), National pre-sun king design (727s), Delta (727s, Convair jets), Northwest Orient (727s) had the inside of the Eastern Pier with Allegheny a busy tenant as well with many Convair props and the occasional Fokker prop. Their feeder lines included Beech Taildraggers and other odd small types. Braniff International operated a 720 (generally a Blue one with Black glare marks above the nose - clearly the star of the airport - to Dallas I believe.

The outside of the Western Pier was dominated by United and it actually wrapped to the far end of the inner part as well. Most interesting types were probably a fleet of DC-6s and the Caravelle. TWA operated a couple of 707s from the outside as well.. with I seem to remember a flight to or including New Mexico. Mohawk (with BAC 1-11s, Fokker and Convair props shared a small bit of the inside finger Northeast "Yellow Bird" which flew Convair jets but mostly Fokker props) .

Flying Tiger CL-44 Swingtails littered a cargo ramp somewhere in the area we now see Signature.

The CAB controlled all the airlines' route structure very tightly and it was not like today where you might expect a surprise or two on any given day. Those were few and far between. For a brief time a West Coast outfit going by the name of "Pacific" something or other operated a 727 and Pan Am flirted with a daily 707 or two for a couple of years but were soon gone again. New York airways operated Boeing Vertols.
Once in a while a military "Box Car" would park in a remote area. An FAA DC-3 was an occasional visiter as well.

But that was about it for EWR. One restaurant in the terminal, one newstand, lots of soft jazz on the PA not unlike Terminal C last time I checked. It could be a slow airport at times despite a relatively large stable of airlines/operators. Not unusual to see no movements for 10 or almost 15 minutes at a time. At 2pm, there was a big push of departures resulting in a line of about 8 or 9 aircraft and then things would settle down again.

Once half the airlines relocated to the comparatively poor viewing areas of the new Terminal A, my time at EWR was done and it was over to JFK, but I have prattled on here enough I think.

One last memory though..something else you wont see today... loud jet aircraft departing to the WEST. :)

Mike, here from Long Beach, California, presently, I work for Alteon/Boeing, in charge of scheduling on the 717, MD88, 737-200, & the MD11.

Background, have always been into airplanes, though I am not a spotter.

I was a mechanic in the Navy working on the P3 Orion & the A3 Skywarrior.

Have worked at NCA (Nippon Cargo Airlines) & Polar Air Cargo, before landing my present job.

MMike, we all envious of you!

Good for you.

Just need to add one more thing.

I give my father huge credit for his unselfishness with me, always giving me his undivided attention. If it was important to me, that was all he needed to know.

He has no knowledge of jets, he would take me to the airport, buying models and books.

Final note, we went to Orlando one year, and I was all excited about flying a L1011, but they had no direct flights. So he arranged with the travel agency to get a flight to Atlanta first, then on to the Tristar.

I can still hear in my mind the travel agent saying "But why, you could just have a nice direct flight without the stupid stop?!?!" And my dad insisting on us to ride on the L1011.....yet can hear in his voice he had no clue what a L1011 was!!!!

The was my only ride ever on a Tristar.

Priceless.

Mike

I think back further to my childhood involvement with aviation.

I remember one day going through Houston at the age of 9, my Continental DC-9 was pulling back from the gate and I saw a KLM 747-200 (assuming -200) down a ways...and was so excited becuase I actually had (still have) a toy Matchbox version of it. I glued my face to the window until it was out of view. At the time, I think it was the closest I had ever been to a 747.

On that same trip, but on my way home, I got to go up to the cockpit. The pilot told me th basics of flying (yoke movements), which I insisted that I knew. He then let me talk on the PA to say hi to my parents.

When arriving into LGA....I THINK we landed on rwy 31, but it was very stormy, and I threw up in a barf bag over Flushing, but was still excited. By the time we touched down, I was looking out the window and noticed that we kept rolling and rolling and rolling, like we weren't stopping. We eventually got off the runway and learned that we were the last plane to land at the airport before it closed.....with Tornado warnings in the area. haha. I wonder if we came close to crashing.

Mine was AA 747-100 JFK LAX summer of 71 I was 4.
The plane was so new. the pilot took my grandparents on a tour of it bebore we boarded, and I remember we still had to get dressed up to fly then, I had to were a suit and I was 4...

well my name is david i love airplanes since was 6 years old i remenber so many of them at LGA and JFK like the 880s&990s DC-8s DC-9s DC-10s B-707 B-720 727-100&200s 737-100s&200s B-747-100s A300 L-1011 VC-10 L-188 and many many more the list go on and on last year i was video tapeing and the boys in bule got me they took me to the house and they ask me what i am doing video tape airplanes this is hobby and not you or anyone is going to take my hobby away from me theres to many of us out there so thats that. :D

I got hooked back in '78 when I was 13. My folks took me to London aboard a BA Super VC-10 from JFK to LHR. I had the window seat next to the Conways. About thirty minutes into the flight we had to return because of navigation problems. The captain dumped the fuel and we landed in JFK. Two hours later we took off. Two take-offs within three hours in a Super VC-10 will get any kid hooked. From there I went on to spotting at JFK religiously. First at the IAB and then I found out about the Pan Am rooftop.

My namer is Vinny. I grew up and still live in between the landing paths for JFK's 13L and 13R. Seeing planes from my bedroom window constantly automatically made me get hooked on aviation from such a young age. I would always ask my dad to take a drive to the airport so go see the planes (I still take random drives to JFK all the time). Travelling on AZ to see relatives in Italy every summer also fueled my aviaition fascination. Now as many of you know, Im going to make the jump into pilot training, fulfilling a lifelong dream!

Nycfly75...

GO FOR IT!

Chase down that dream and do it!

You will hate yourself if you don't in the future, reminds me of someone, about my height...................................

Okay, mine is easy....

Dad worked for UA since 1963, so I was born into aviation, being I came into the world in 1966. Every now and then I got to "go to work with dad." For a 5 year old, with a picture window to the ramp at JFK, what else would I do when I grew up? Well there was a short detour, when I got very sick during my college years. During my recovery, dad tells me, hey United is hiring, are you interested? Well, that was 1986, I worked at JFK for 17 years...until the Chapter 11 bug finally axed my job. Luckily I caught a break, and after only 3 weks of unemployment I landed my current job working in FRG in the Ops department for one of the Biz-Jet charter companies there. So I count at least 20 years working at airports...so, I do have jet-fuel in my veins. Got my Canon Digital Rebel XT about 3 months ago and am still learning it. Looking for the better weather in spring to start meeting the guys more often for shoots.

John

well i'm Monty, i'm the NYC correspondant based permanently in Australia ;) my first outting to the airport came when i was about 5 years old, it was to see my uncle off on a flight back to Greece, pretty sure it was a 707 too...anyways, from that day on i always had an affection for things with wings! I spent alot of my youth watching planes, sitting at the airport, or just looking at them from my backyard!

when i was 9 i got my late fathers ****ty Yashica camera and started taking photos, i still have those old snaps hidden away somewhere, i was destined to do my high schooling at a private grammar school, then i heard of a very unique Australian school that was 5mins from home, it offered it's students an aviation course aswell as the usual subjects...I applied and was successful, i studied the course for 2 years and also took flying lessons in the schools aircraft..back then it was a C152. I remember wagging a day just to go and see the 1st AN124 ever to come to Perth, sitting along side it was a Qantas 747SP! magic moments!

in 1987 my father passed away, mum and i decided to take a trip to Singapore, we spent hours upon hours sitting at Changi airport obs deck just watching heavy metal...back then Singapore had plenty of Eastern Block traffic, 3holers from the likes of Swissair and Sabena, and the grand daddy of them all, UTA Big Boss 747-300 with the green doors, also had lots of Air Canada 747-200's and the occasional Flying Tigers in bare metal...I got myself a new camera, Canon EOS850 and started snapping everything in my way.

mum marched me off to Greece in 1991, my cousins house was right behind the old Hellenikon airport, so i'd sit on the balcony and watch Olympic jets allday, was awesome!

fast forward through the 90s which i spent travelling to various airports worldwide, from the marvel of Kai Tak from the jumpseat, to the humidity and heat of Singapore, to the freezing cold temps of Frankfurt in winter, i did it all just to add to the collection of photos.

2000 rocked on, it was a year that changed my life in a bad way health wise, i didn't get out to the airport, it took close to 2 years to learn to walk properly again, my best friend would swing by and take me for a drive to the airport once n a while, but i didn't get any photos...my goal was to get on my feet and attempt to travel alone within 2 years, in may 2002 i was back on the road again, off to Europe for my first spotting trip in over 2 years! it felt good to get back on the road...it felt good to sit at the end of a runway and watch heavy metal! fuk it just felt good knowing that i could travel alone!

each year since i've tried to complete 3 longhaul trips per year to add more aviation to my photo collection, i upgraded my equiptment, took some chances and decided, **** i can't fly em so i might aswell make em look good via a photograph :)

i think the best oppurtunity i have ever had is the travel part of the aviation bug, it's been an amazing experience to visit new countries, experience new cultures and most of all meet fantastic people around the world! I'm trying to catalogue as many different regos/photos as i can, it's a hard task but i really enjoy doing it..uploading photos to the sites is really not about showing off for me, it's about giving people a visual aid to the aviation happenings in my part of the world and other parts i've visited!

so that's my story and i'm sticking to it! I'll be out with my same old ****ty eqpt in 2.5 weeks as i hit the road again in pursuit of more regos, more photos and to enjoy the company of friends. :)

Im brian And i first flew on a plane in 1998 to mnl to the old gimpo airport and it was on asiana 222 from jfk i spent my birthday in the phillipines my 6th birthday and and when i came back from jfk i was nocturnal that was my jet lag and like 5 years later Jfk has changed alot i remember what was what and it was gone the old int arrivals building. when i went there i first heard of jetblue... my mom flew to RSW and back..

That's pretty much my story...

My name is Chris.. First got interested in aviation when one night the planes were flying over my house for 22L. From there I did all the research about JFK and approaches. First flew on a plane in April of 98 or 99 on from LGA to RSW on ye' ole USair Metro Jet.

Then when going to the beach one summer, instead of swimming I brought my scanner and watched the planes come in on 31's. Then proceeded to learn about airliners.net and checked out the pictures at JFK and LGA. Then found Art Brett's site on spotting locations. First spotting day was August of 2001 in the Customs lot, that's when things were still normal. I remember being out there sitting on the roof of my parents van watching everything come, mesmerized at them.

Then after a few other times, brought the video camera. ORL was my second spotting adventure, right near the end of 18R & L . Having them buzz your hair was the best, and was lucky enough to catch a TWA 757. Eventually got my own camera, which i replaced after not even a year lol.. And now im out spotting the usual locations.

Worst flight experience for me was on a DAL MD-11.. was stuck in the middle seat so i was powerless haha. I mostly fly DAL now, use to fly USA but changed after a few bad experiences with baggage and lack of customer care. Locations I've flown to, KMCO,KATL,KRSW,KJFK,KLGA, KPHL, Pittsburgh.

My earliest memories are of 1st generation jets screaming low overhead on the last lap of the Canarsie approach,over my 1st domicile,South Ozone Park,Queens,NY. AstroJet 707s and CV990s, Clipper 707s,Starstream 707s,BOAC Vc-10s,Aeroflot il-62s, Twa CV880s,NE Yellowbird 727s,Braniff rainbow everything ! plus the last of the Dc-7s,and Connies. I was hooked. Started flying when I was 16,little Cessnas in Jersey, this was the 70s, and I would sit in my driveway with the aviation scanner tuned,and a telescope ,and binos tracking the Jfk inbounds,LGA outbounds,EWR arrivals, a total nerd. Started flying for a living in '87,after a stint in the Marines, right seat in a DC-3 freighter, made Capt. in '89,flew 3s till '97,out of Detroit ,then piston Convairs, now 727s, love them all. My wife is a pilot too,a Capt. for CoEX on the EMB135/145. A highlight of my career was back in '94,flying the Canarsie approach in the 3,over the old sod,the prodigal returned. I love this flying life, God's grace,it has been even better than I had hoped.

Almost half of my family has worked for Grumman Aerospace at some point. One of my grandfaters worked in the windtunnel and their archives way back when, the other worked as an engineer for Sperry, my mom built parts for the C-2 and my dad worked out in Calverton. I basically grew up with the company and the F14. My dad told stories about sitting in the control tower durring lunch breaks watching brand-spanking new Tomcats take off, right off the assembly line, not even painted. He was always trying to get me to go to the company picnics, but because I was so young I was scared of the jet noise and big crowds. Man, do i regret my cowardly ways now. My house if full of old Grumman things and historical mementos, some really old and rare stuff, but I would never dream of selling it.
My dream is to become an aerospace engineer and move out west to work for some company like Scaled Composites, building radical and revolutionary space and air craft. I hate admitting the fact that I have never actually flown in a plane. I still want to get my private pilot's, though :wink:.