Why aviation?

Born into it. Given the initials ETA for a reason. My father flew in the USAF, CANG, and the majority of his commercial career with American Airlines. From props to jets!
My mother was a flight nurse in the CANG and did some brief time as a stewardess when there was a requirement one on board was an RN.
I've always loved aviation and enjoyed earning my degree in aviation administration.

I feel sorry for people who don't love and understand our world.
 
1st! I live 15 miles south of EWR and I frequently used to (still do) go to my aunts house which is about across the street from the cargo complex of JFK so that made for some killer sightings! 2nd! Flight simulator 2000 was a dream come true to me back then and even now adays I still fly on FS9 3rd! Flying on airlines, I have been in the cockpit of the A343, A321, 738, and the Concorde! (USS Intrepid), not to mention the feeling of turning onto the runway is exhilarating, its not like when you turn your car, rather its like someone turning you seat sideways! I am not even going to get into the topic of takeoff!:nana2:

Yupp thats a VERY SIMPLE explanation of why I am obsessed with aviation!
 
I was 2-3 and my dad was working on his certificates and just got his PPL. He took me flying in a white and yellow C-152. I took the controls and started yanking and banking and my dad said I had a smile from ear to ear. I can remember every detail of that flight, how many memories does anyone have when they are that young? I was hooked. Plus, I have also done the engineering/cubicle/no window job as well.
 
When I was young, probably 6 or 7, my family flew on a United Airlines flight to somewhere. It was the first time I remember being on an airliner. I thought everything about the airport was awesome. I loved the feeling of being pressed in to the seat on takeoff, and the view out the window. At the end of the flight, as we were leaving, the pilots invited my brother and me to look at the cockpit. As soon as I walked in, I was hooked. This was in the late '80s, so nothing was glass yet. Just tons of buttons, knobs, switches, lights, and gauges everywhere.

A few years later, after reading countless books and watching countless TV shows about planes, my dad bought me Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0. It was all downhill from there. I self-educated myself about aerodynamics, VOR navigation, etc.

However, for some reason I never thought seriously of flying professionally until I was in high school. I'd always wanted to get a private pilot certificate, but thought it was unrealistic to do it for a job. I planned to become a mechanical engineer instead.

Then, my senior year of high school, I distinctly remember sitting in calculus class and thinking to myself how much I hate math, working in offices, and living a "normal" life. I decided I wanted to go for it and become a pilot. When I told my parents what I wanted, they were both happy. "We always thought you'd be happier as a pilot than an engineer. We just wanted you to make the decision on your own," my mom said.

For all the ups and downs we deal with, I don't regret it one bit.
 
"When I was young," my dad worked for an insurance agency as an adjuster. He went out to that huge LA earthquake in the early/mid 90's for six weeks to work. Because he was gone for so long, his company flew me, my mom, and my sister out to LA for a week to visit him.

We flew from Denver to LAX on a United 737. I can literally remember everything about that flight(it was my first time ever on an airplane) and it was about 15 years ago. Sometimes when I get on planes, the smell of the cabin and the coffee that I smelt back then is identical. My favorite part was probably the feeling of takeoff. Ever since then I wanted to fly.
 
I had a poster of a 747-100 on my wall when i was 4 or 5, i just remember wanting to know what all the buttons and dials meant.
 
My sister talked me into taking a flight lesson because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do for a living. I went on that first flight lesson and was hooked from the view of the ground and how peaceful everything looked. I have always been part fish growing up water skiing every weekend and I still want to fly floatplanes for a living. I love the water. Floatplanes can land in the most remote places where I believe you can make time almost stop. It is relaxing.
 
My Mom said that I started on the pilot kick when I was about 4, and I never really let go of it. Started taking lessons when I was 16.
 
jrh said:
When I was young, probably 6 or 7, my family flew on a United Airlines flight to somewhere. It was the first time I remember being on an airliner. I thought everything about the airport was awesome. I loved the feeling of being pressed in to the seat on takeoff, and the view out the window. At the end of the flight, as we were leaving, the pilots invited my brother and me to look at the cockpit. As soon as I walked in, I was hooked. This was in the late '80s, so nothing was glass yet. Just tons of buttons, knobs, switches, lights, and gauges everywhere.

A few years later, after reading countless books and watching countless TV shows about planes, my dad bought me Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.0. It was all downhill from there. I self-educated myself about aerodynamics, VOR navigation, etc.

However, for some reason I never thought seriously of flying professionally until I was in high school. I'd always wanted to get a private pilot certificate, but thought it was unrealistic to do it for a job. I planned to become a mechanical engineer instead.

Then, my senior year of high school, I distinctly remember sitting in calculus class and thinking to myself how much I hate math, working in offices, and living a "normal" life. I decided I wanted to go for it and become a pilot. When I told my parents what I wanted, they were both happy. "We always thought you'd be happier as a pilot than an engineer. We just wanted you to make the decision on your own," my mom said.

For all the ups and downs we deal with, I don't regret it one bit.
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Lots of similarities. I flew FLL-ORD-LAX (United) in May of 2001 and also visited the cockpit of our 737. United pilots were very accomodating and I still have the plastic wings they gave me.

Also did mechanical engineering my first year of college but as soon as I hit the calculus courses and after getting an internship at a Motorola plant and seeing how miserable people seemed to be I decided that it wasn't for me.
 
mavsfan31 said:
Always thought it would be cool to do.

When I was younger, I loved looking into cockpits on the way to my seat on airliners. Looking up in the sky is always fun too.
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Another thing I just thought about...

Went up with a friend in his 152. The feeling of just taking off was awesome. It was such a release.
 
My father.

An A&P for his adult life. Through the military and into the civilian world I have grown up around or in planes and the aviation industry.

It's what I know, and it's the only thing I'd be happy being a professional at.
 
There are three places I am happy in this world, in the air, on the sea, and in the snow.:)

My uncle used to be a pilot, and his love of airplanes rubbed off on me.

However I am working on my other dream, and by the end of this summer I should have my Qualified Member of the Engine Department(QMED) rating from the Coast Guard, and can go to work as an engineer on either MSC or NOAA ships:rawk:
 
Since I was a little kid I would stop what I was doing when I saw a jet flying over.

Thought about it a lot when I was younger but sports were more important at the time.

Graduated, started working in a cube hated it. Earned the money, started flying, loved it.

Wasn't sure if it was just the job or the business life in general that I hated. New job, nicer cube, more money, still hate the life of a corporate American.

Working on ratings. Will keep the cube occupied until debt is paid off, hopefully instruct on weekends and nights.

Where it goes from there I don't know, but I have learned it is not all about the money.
 
My family would travel to India in the Summers every 2 years or so. I always found it amazing how airplanes could take us so far across the globe. It really set in when I got to visit a Delta Tristar cockpit while flying across the atlantic. I sat up there for a while and hung out in the jumpseat. The crew even gave me a model airplane to keep, I still have it.
 
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