Who are you and how did you get into aviation

[FlyingColors]

MMike, we all envious of you!

Good for you.

[FlyingColors]

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

[PhilDernerJr]

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.

[Ari707]

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...

[davezilla]

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

[Idlewild]

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.

[Nycfly75]

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!

[FlyingColors]

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...................................

[lijk604]

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

[Mr Smith]

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. :)

[Tower Air]

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...

[UrbanExplorer222]

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.

[727C47]

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.

[GrummanFan]

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 .