Pilot Inspires 5yo by Waving

[Area 5150]

It was a wave from a United DC-10 FO through the terminal windows at SeaTac in 1976, and a follow-up trip to the cockpit on that flight in which the FE gave me a set of wings, that set the fire in my belly for commercial aviation. I may have taken a 25+ year detour into a military aviation career, but in the back of my mind this experience was always orbiting and waiting...

Whenever we're reminiscing over great, lost airliner liveries, I always post the "brady-bunch" United DC-10 from the late 70s because, to this day, seeing that still gives me that excitement I had as a kid when I saw it through that terminal glass.

Formative experiences are powerful.

Still love this livery.

Built many versions of Revel models United 727's and DC-10's as a kid. Delta too.

 

[AAPalmTree]

@ATN_Pilot for a guy that "left the BS behind" your a pretty bitter/angry dude.

 

[Nark]

I'll play this game too:
Flying to and from Bermuda and Canada, had an opportunity to visit the cockpit.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

@ATN_Pilot for a guy that "left the BS behind" your a pretty bitter/angry dude.

Yep. No apologies for it, either. Utter scumbags.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

I do things like that semi-regularly and yet there's never a professional camera crew around ....

Yup.

 

[JetDoc]

It was a wave from a United DC-10 FO through the terminal windows at SeaTac in 1976, and a follow-up trip to the cockpit on that flight in which the FE gave me a set of wings, that set the fire in my belly for commercial aviation. I may have taken a 25+ year detour into a military aviation career, but in the back of my mind this experience was always orbiting and waiting...

Whenever we're reminiscing over great, lost airliner liveries, I always post the "brady-bunch" United DC-10 from the late 70s because, to this day, seeing that still gives me that excitement I had as a kid when I saw it through that terminal glass.

Formative experiences are powerful.

EDIT: I still have those wings -- they're at my parents' house. I'm gonna go dig those things out...maybe they'll come in handy someday.

My baby!! What a great looking airplane! Anyone else notice the nicotine staining the fuselage at the outflow valve? That's pretty disgusting.

 

[Hacker15e]

My baby!! What a great looking airplane! Anyone else notice the nicotine staining the fuselage at the outflow valve? That's pretty disgusting.

Never would have guessed that's what we're looking at there. Ack.

 

[pullup]

Used to take my 18 yr old nephew to the airport at BUF when he was 5, 6, 7-ish. I swear some pilots got as much joy waving to him as he got. He is now going into college with a goal of flying professionally.

 

[JetDoc]

Never would have guessed that's what we're looking at there. Ack.

Yep, that is exactly what it is. When I started at UAL in 1990 smoking on board had just ended but the residue remained. We had a job card to clean the outflow valve and the area surrounding it on the inside of the fuselage. It was disgusting.

 

[derg]

Seriously...who in the world would wear a bow tie?

@SurferLucas

Waaaaaayl Jos'uff it just WOOOuldnt be genteel if a was ta correct yawl on that. Oh, daisy may is out of the car warrrsh, gotta go!

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

Imagine what the inside of a smoker's lung must look like after half a century.

 

[Area 5150]

Imagine what the inside of a smoker's lung must look like after half a century.

A F'n DC-10 apparently!!!!!

 

[FlySooner9]

I read it. I don't like kids, so probably not a good charitable outlet for me. You have fun with it, though. Sounds like a good cause.

You seem like the most crotchety person around.

 

[FlySooner9]

I used to love going to the original founders plaza at DFW when it was on ER I think? Between 17L and 17C. Would get extra excitement when the crew would wave.

My greatest memory is when an Airways crew let me watch them perform all of their checklists while I watched. Let me watch until the last minute before push back. I have always vowed I will do the same whenever an opportunity like that presents itself.

 

[DPApilot]

Waaaaaayl Jos'uff it just WOOOuldnt be genteel if a was ta correct yawl on that. Oh, daisy may is out of the car warrrsh, gotta go!

It's Jesse Mae. God......

 

[Murdoughnut]

I used to love going to the original founders plaza at DFW when it was on ER I think? Between 17L and 17C. Would get extra excitement when the crew would wave.

My greatest memory is when an Airways crew let me watch them perform all of their checklists while I watched. Let me watch until the last minute before push back. I have always vowed I will do the same whenever an opportunity like that presents itself.

I used to take girls out to the old Founders Plaza at night when it was actually close to the airport. I think they were dismayed that I was more interested in watching airplanes than making out.

 

[SlumTodd_Millionaire]

You seem like the most crotchety person around.

I'm not. But I'm okay with you thinking I am. Good day, sir!

 

[mrivc211]

Hate, hate, hate!!!!!

Hahahaha

 

[derg]

Hahahaha

You know I'd love to laugh however one of my really good friends was a Hmong immigrant and his mother was prego on the boat on the way over. They didn't speak English, except for my friend Vang, and they wanted to give their newborn an American name. They watched a lot of American television and movies and loved the film "Sharkey's Machine" because Burt Reynolds epitomized everything they thought an American male would be.

So they named him "Tharkey".

 

[derg]

It's Jesse Mae. God......

I will cut you.

 

[derg]

My first cockpit visit on the ground, VIS-SFO, sometime in the late 1970's:

My first cockpit visit in-flight, 1988 LAX-MEX: