Airplanes
Kid Stuff
This essay originally appeared in the September 2002 issue of Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine The Beechcraft King Air 200 has shut down; the passengers disembarked and as the pilots are walking away I whisper into my 4-year-old son’s ear “Wave at the pilots”. It works like a charm. One of the pilots walks … Continue reading
Bits of Glass
I recently picked up one of my favorite books from my childhood, Edward Jablonski’s Flying Fortress. It’s a highly researched and detailed account of the brave American airmen that flew B-17 bombers during World War 2. I can remember devouring that book in fifth grade and hoping that one day I would also be … Continue reading
Hollywood and Whine
Why do we feel the need to turn authentic heroes into caricatures of themselves? My son and I recently watched the movie Red Tails. We wanted to see it on the big screen but had to settle for our own theatre. I really wanted to like this movie. If there ever was a chapter of … Continue reading
Tell me again why I didn’t join the Air Force?
I’m not sure why I never became a fighter pilot because when I was a kid that is all I dreamed of becoming. From the ceiling that my brother Tommy and I shared hung models of every fighter plane imaginable dating from World War 1. P-51D’s shared airspace with Fokker Triplanes and F- 101 Voodoo’s. … Continue reading
Who’s really a hero?
From April, 2007 This past Saturday my son Tudor and I along with a friend of Tudor’s & his dad took off for Beaufort so we could take in the Beaufort Air Show at the Marine Corps Air Station. Tudor & I had been planning this trip for several months because the Blue Angels were performing … Continue reading
