How did you find aviation?

What got you into flying?

  • Grew up around it.

    Votes: 33 23.1%

  • Taken on a ride by a family member or friend.

    Votes: 25 17.5%

  • Family member or friends talking about it.

    Votes: 13 9.1%

  • Outreach (career fairs, recruiters, young eagles, etc).

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Exposed to it in the military

    Votes: 6 4.2%

  • Air show or other event at the airport.

    Votes: 8 5.6%

  • Took trip on a commercial airline and got interested.

    Votes: 3 2.1%

  • Just saw airplanes someplace and started looking into it.

    Votes: 19 13.3%

  • Something else

    Votes: 35 24.5%
  • Total voters
    143
No family connections to aviation. There was an A&P that attended my church when I was in college. I jokingly asked him to go flying. He set me up for my discovery flight. The rest is history.
 
I had been interested in flying "forever". In 1999 my wife and I were the high bidders for a sightseeing ride in a fund raiser at church. When she found out we could get across the state in about 2 hours flying she turned to me and said maybe it was time to start lessons. Both kids were going to college across the state and I guess money and time finally came together at the same time. Started lessons in 2000 and passed my check ride in April 2001 at the sage of 49. The rest is history.
 
Been obsessed since before I can remember. The story goes that there was a long time there when my parents hoped I would learn and use a word other than “airplane”.

I’ve learned a couple, but since they take up mental space that could be used for airplanes, I try to keep it to a minimum.
 
I was always interested in aviation, but being on the wrong side of the tracks in a tiny little own, I was always told that airplanes were for the rich people and I had no business bothering the Cessna pilots at my local airport. Funny enough, that airport still gets crappy reviews in ForeFlight for being non-friendly.

5 years after I graduated HS and I still had no direction in life. I was going to college...but....why.... So, I took the ASVAB. I quickly got a guaranteed job as a linguist, that was just as quickly shot down during basic. I ended up being a Crew Chief for F-15s. I volunteered to go international and was quickly sent to England for my first duty assignment. From there, it was a whirlwind of training, deployments, more training, and more deployments. I ended up being a Crash Recovery/Aero Repair tech at Nellis in Las Vegas. By the time I got out of the mil at 10 years after I attended Basic, I realized I had became an F-15 guru, that had done a whole lot that most normal mechanics don't get the chance to do. I put all of that into a resume, and long story short, I became a Design & Development mech on the F-35. I've changed positions many times, but I am still on the program.

After 23 years of maintaining, experimenting, and developing airplanes, I figured it was time to figure out how to fly them. Funny enough, I struggled becoming a PPL, as I often engaged in analysis paralysis... the last few decades have taught me to overthink everything...sometimes to a fault.

But, as a few months ago, I finally passed my checkride and became an O-Fishal pilot. I will always hold the USAF in respect for giving me the opportunity to become what I am today. And I will always pay respect to those that came before me and paved the way for me to learn what I needed to know, and to know how to get the knowledge when I didn't know.

Thanks,
 
I grew up around it. My first flight was in a Ryan SCW, 9mo old. Dad always had a project airplane. I soloed in a C140 and got my multi in a Twin Navion he had. He flew for Continental Airlines but was a mechanic before that in the Air Force in Korea and Braniff later. His best friend from the Air Force ended up flying corporate and I always liked what Uncle Ray did and Ray helped me get into it.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Sky King.
Click to expand...
...actually, that's what got me wanting to. Doing it is another story. I never actually did it until my wife, tired of hearing me talk about wanting to, bought me a logbook, the Airplane Flying Handbook, and 3 lessons for my 38th birthday so I'd get it out of my system.
 
Family friend took me flying in a Cherokee when I was 5. That was my only GA flight until many years later when I went up with a friend in college. I earned my private that summer.
 
I learned much later in life that my dad learned how to fly around when I was born. He ended up making aviation a career but during my formative years ran a construction company instead of flying so I never picked up the bug from him. I guess I’ve always been fascinated with planes. Like most of us? When I was a teen I would go out to the local airport and lay on the hood of my car watching the planes come and go. Wanted to fly for the AF but my lack of 20/20 said nope to that. Insert 6 years in the Navy, getting married and two daughters, college degrees and a career later; got into flight simming and later RC. Wife finally suggested I should just go learn how to fly … which kinda surprised me because the thought really had never crossed my mind. So I did. Got my ppl in 2015 and now I’m in a club with five aircraft loving life as a hobby pilot.
 
I was a drag racer and have seen small airplanes land on drag strips.
Said to my wife I'd like to learn to fly someday. No one in my family or friends were in the aviation business or flew.
My wife gave me a introductory flight as a birthday gift. I waited 2 years right before it was going to expire to go take the flight. 14 months later I earned my PPL and it has taken over my life.
 
Last edited:
Have always been fascinated by science in general and flight specifically. Built and flew many model airplanes as a youth, and read Flying when (usually) bored in study hall. Always dreamed of owning a plane one day, then stumbled on a local flight school when I got my first academic position. Loved the fun and challenge or learning to fly. Bought a plane within a year of that. Then got the IR 4 years later. Funny things happen when dreams become goals.
 
I found aviation after my financial advisor recommended it to me. Long story short, I fired him a year later!

Jokes aside, I found it by natural interest. Was fascinated as a kid and always wanted to watch planes and go to the airport. Took lessons at 15yrs old and the rest was history. :)
 
Grew up underneath the downwind of a military/civilian airport. Watched F-4s, F-16s, C-130s, UH-1s, and general aviation aircraft all day long flying over my neighborhood.

Fell in love.
 
I grew up in Staten Island, NY about 1/2 mile from Miller Field, an Army Air field and as a 6/7 year old was enthralled by the planes always flying overhead that was when I was hooked. I wanted to be an airline pilot and decided to go to a small college in New Hampshire that had a flight training program and as a 17 year old freshman in the fall of 1979 had my first flight lesson. I wound up soloing before the end of the year and even did a dual xc before running out of money. Wound up changing my major, dropping out of day school and started working and going to night school and put my dream on hold. I never lost the bug and always looked up when I heard a plane. Fast forward to 2011 and my Dad passing and I vowed I would do 3 things - quit smoking, finish my degree and get my ppl.
I'll be 8 years smoke free on 12/1, passed my checkride 3 years ago and finished my degree 18 months ago.
 
Father was a float pilot, Uncle was a float pilot. My earliest memory is Dad piling parachutes on the seat so I could see out the window of the PA-11.
It was inevitable.
 
Pop flew around the country for business... PanAm, American, etc... All commercial, he wasn't a pilot. I got a set of wings and a cockpit tour on most flights when I got to go with him. I thought it was cool.

When I was about 7 or 8 I stole a handful of little diecast planes (about the size of a quarter) from Walgreens 'cause mom wouldn't buy em for me... She caught me out, and I had to apologize and pay for them and give them back...

Around 10 or 11 I started spending my allowance on Flying magazine...

My late wife bought me a discovery flight in my late 20s. Been flying on and off since then... Got my certificate back in the 80s... And have picked it up again.

I wanna fly more.

Sent from my motorola edge 5G UW (2021) using Tapatalk
 
I had an awful time finding aviation, but I finally got a bloodhound, gave him a whiff of a rag soaked in avgas, then sent him baying on his way, with me stumbling along behind.

Actually, as a kid I enjoyed model airplanes and model rockets, which partly put me on a path to become an engineer. Once out of college, I began working in aerospace and many of my colleagues were pilots, even a few CFIs and DPEs. Heck, it's tough to throw a rock at a group of Lockheed engineers and not hit at least one pilot. Consequently, being a pilot was never unusual; in fact, it was pretty commonplace. There was no lack of information about how to get started or what it might cost.

So flying never seemed out of reach for me, it was just something else on my to-do list. I've progressed through many activities over the years, including scuba, sports car racing, motorcycles, etc. Once the kids were grown and out of the house, time and money became less of an issue and I decided it was time to get started. I talked with a few buddies from work, got info from a few local flight schools, and dove in.

Got my Sport Pilot ticket in 2017, then Private in 2019. I just bought a plane (Beech B23 Musketeer) over the summer.
 
I was one of "those" nerdy kids. Looked up in the sky as a kid and thought airplanes were so cool. Had a subscription to Private Pilot from the time I was about 8; I didn't really understand everything I was reading, but the pictures were what I was in it for (this is years before the internet made that so much easier). I would also ask my parents to buy the Sporty's Christmas ornament for me each year just so they'd keep sending me the catalogue; I think I also used to take the phonebook-sized Aircraft Spruce catalogue, although I had no idea what I was looking at for the most part.

I took a EAA Young Eagles flight when I was about 10 or 12. Took a few flight lessons when I was 16, but the $6 an hour I made as a Target cashier didn't get me very far (plenty of time for training, but no money). Finally picked up my training again in early 2020; as a lawyer, I can better afford the training now, but now time is now a problem. I'm nearly done with the practical training and just need to take the written and then schedule the practical. When I finally pass, I'm posting pictures all over this forum - it'll be one of my proudest achievements. I'll be the nerdy looking guy grinning from ear to ear holding a piece of paper from the DPE. The 16 year old version of me would have expected the hair I have left to be less gray when I finally earned the PPL, but nonetheless.... :)
 
When I was a kid (5 or 6 years old), my parents asked me what I wanted to be. I told them, "I want to be a TWA pilot." I was always interested in aviation, and loved collecting the small die-cast airplanes as a kid, and played with them in my bedroom. Time went by, got married, started a family... but I always held the fascination with airplanes and airports. Then decided to take a demo flight and knew that I wanted to be up in the air. No regrets in that decision.
 
Watching airplanes at my grandmothers house. She lived near an airport that had aerobatic pilots practicing during the summers.
 
Friend of my dad's took me on a Young Eagles flight when I was 8 or so. That started the bug, then in high school we had a project that we had to job shadow somebody. I picked another friend of my dad's that fly's for American and did a tour of the training facility in Dallas, TX. It was a very short time later I started lessons. Never became a pro pilot, but did get my PPL and plan on my IR sometime soon. If all goes well, our house is up for sale and our offer on a property that is part of an airpark is accepted, so we'll be building a house and buying an airplane in the near future. Funny enough, after getting my PPL I learned my grandpa was a pilot and I never knew it (he passed before I started training), so it runs in the family I guess :)
 
My dad starting taking flying lessons in 1972, I was 8 at the time. After about 20 hours, he ordered a new 182, the first N747JB. He flew with his instructor to Wichita to finish his PPL. He kept it on a little grass strip that belonged to one of his friends. I loved flying in and out if that grass strip, even though I spent a good bit of time mowing it! When the recession hit in the late 70’s he parked it. I was in college in 1984 and decided to finally start flying, got my PPL later that year. My kids all grew up thinking it was normal to fly everywhere, I think our oldest was 5 or 6 years old before she took her first long car ride. Our youngest son soloed on his 16th birthday and got his PPL at 20.
 
Always wanted to fly. I liked airplane toys, gliders, and pilot GI Joes. My father and the cool uncle would take us to the airport to watch the planes. No one in my family was a pilot. In high school I went up for a discovery flight and I worked and hustled my ass off to pay for flight training and finally finished PPL right before leaving for college. Parents had to cover the finish up costs but at least I made it much less of a financial burden for them. Forever grateful.
 
Two of my dad's brothers were killed in WWII...pilots of B25 and B17. My dad bought an Aeronca Chief when I was a little kid, then a Cherokee, Bonanza, Cessna 195. I learned to fly early on..licensed in 1973. I purchased a Stinson 108 and flew out of a 1400 ft grass strip for years. I still own my dad's 195.
 
Read a book when I was a teenager
 
I got married, and my wife has a large family she likes to visit often, but they are two and a half hours away. At the time, we also lived five minutes from a very nice, small GA airport. It was (and still is) a much more interesting, and sometimes quicker, way for us to get from point A to B. Ten years and three airplanes later and I'm still all in.
 
My father was a well-known test pilot but we didn’t get along and I did not want to stand in his shadow so I went off in another direction.

I road raced motorcycles for twenty three years and then decided to chase the land speed record for motorcycles at Bonneville and after two traumatic brain injuries in two years my neurologist pointed out brain injuries were cumulative and perhaps I should find a different hobby.

I learned to fly a helicopter and found I could not get a medical because of my TBIs and being blind in one eye.

After two years and lots of paperwork I was scheduled for a demonstrated ability medical check ride in a gyroplane and now fly with a statement of demonstrated ability.

I am now a Gyroplane Flight Instructor and aviation takes up a large portion of my life.

My father died twenty years before my first flight.
 

Attachments

  • 1s.jpg
    1s.jpg
    108.6 KB · Views: 12
Dad was FSS so I grew up around GA. We also lived near El Centro for a time and got to watch the Blues a lot. Didn’t really get serious about flying for a living until we moved to JAX and the local Army NG would fly their Hueys and Cobras to my high school. “High school to flight school.” Hmm, that sounds interesting.

Holding the Blues Angels poster with my brothers. A-4s!

454149E0-BCEE-48DD-9739-2FAB2772DEFC.jpeg
 
I remember airplanes flying over our house (5-6 years old). Lassie "Challenge of the Mountain" sparked an interest in RC airplanes. My dentist took me flying in my early twenty's. Helped another friend with RC airplanes. His dad left him a Stearman. Got a ride and found out a Cessna 140 or Luscombe could be bought for less money than the car I was driving at the time. Started lessons 08-13-88 and passed the check ride 12-13-88. Been active ever since.
 
My grandfather inspired me. He was a ball turret gunner in a B-17 during WWII. When I was a kid he was retired and would babysit me during my summers off while my parents and grandmother worked. After lunch, our afternoon ritual was sitting at one of two airports in town watching airplanes taking off and landing. There was one scheduled airline flight a day that we would often go see (a Braniff Airlines 737). I soloed at 16, got my license at 17. One of my greatest thrills was taking my grandfather and grandmother flying while I was a senior in high school. Now I’m teaching my teenage son to fly, so I suppose everything has come full circle.
 
I joined the CAP Cadets in the early 50's. As I approached 16, my father sponsored my solo. Got my Private a few days after my 17th birthday.
 
cowman said:
Not necessarily who mentored you or helped you get to where you are. Just, what first put this in your head as an idea you wanted to pursue?

I have an expectation but maybe I'm wrong...
Click to expand...

Flying was not even a thing in the country where I was born and raised. I never knew a pilot, and didn't know that small airplanes even existed.

Then one day, I walked into an FBO. Then the world changed.
 
Lived close to an airport and later worked for an aerospace co.

My mother got me a discovery flight as a birthday present, once I pulled the yoke back and we disconnected with the ground, I was hooked.
 
It started early for me as my dad had an Aeronca Chief when I was little. It lived in a big WWII vintage hangar at our local airport at the time. Inside of that hangar was a DC-3 that hadn't moved in years, and that thing absolutely fascinated me when I was 4 years old.
 
My grandfather was a B-17 navigator during WWII and was later involved with the early ICBM program. I carry his name and, like him, loved building model aircraft as a kid. Still didn't feel the urge to be a pilot.

Saw the Blue Angels at Offutt AFB when I was eight years old. Cried happy tears when one of their A-4 Skyhawks rocketed over the crowd from behind. Still didn't feel the urge to be a pilot.

Had an offer to ride in a Bonanza 2-3 years later while plane watching with my Dad one Saturday afternoon at MLE. Dad said no (rightfully, as we didn't know the pilot.) Disappointed, but still didn't feel the urge to be a pilot.

A good friend started flight training in 1999. Still didn't feel the urge to be a pilot.

In August 2002, while working for an Albuquerque-based courier company, I had to ride in one of its Cessna 310 freighters to cover a ground route in the Four Corners. It was the first time I'd seen the ground fall away from a different perspective than a tiny airliner side window... and, finally, I knew I had to learn how to fly for myself.

Most of my life decisions since then have revolved around that goal, for better and worse.
 
Expensive. Enjoyable but expensive. I still find it so.
 
My dad used to joke how he was there when Lindbergh lifted off from Roosevelt Field. He was...in utero :) During WW II, his job was to climb into Grumman Avengers assembled on Long Island and hold a riveting bar against rivets as they were hammered from the outside. He attributed poor hearing later in life to that job. He was a couple months away from entering the Army Air Corps when the war ended at which point he was ordered to Alaska. He wasn't a huge aviation guy but he apparently planted a seed in me as I've had an interest in aviation for as long as I can remember.
 
I was always a transportation junky growing up: planes, cars, ships, trains. I read about everything. My father was an attorney dealing with aviation labor and regulatory matters and one of his clients who had a 172, took us flying once. I lobbied hard for flying lessons but didn't get them until I graduated college and could pay for them myself. I did do groundschool my senior year in college (we had a professor who was an instructor and was trying to start a flying club).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top