Flying and children...

[Spin]

I did a quick there and back to Townsville on one of Virgin's Embraers earlier in the week, experiencing all the usual irritations and frustrations that are part and parcel of flying commercially in this day and age. I don't know about anyone else but there doesn't seem to be much "aviation" involved in the experience, rather some sort of sausage machine that grabs you about the time you queue to get into the parking garage and eventually spits out into a cab at the far end.

 

Anyhow business complete I was waiting at the gate for my return flight and noticed a young fella of about 4 who was driving his mother demented whilst he bounced around. He was well nigh unplayable and becoming a serious irritation to the rest of us grumpy old ....., until they moved to where he could look down onto the apron. Well the excitement didn't diminish but became focussed on the activity below, from the preflight preparation in the cockpit, to loading baggage and a series of circuits by a Blackhawk and a Chinook.

 

Obviously not such a bad youngster after all:big_grin:, anyhow he ended up a few rows behind me and I was vaguely aware of a never ending stream of chatter until part way back to Brissie we hit some apparently unforseen and moderately severe turbulence. Where most of us either muttered about spilt drinks or gripped the juice out of the armrest, this youngster was absolutely delighted and there were a series of whoops and shrieks as we banged, rattled and lurched our way out of the cloud.

 

Well I must say it made me think a bit more about this flying lark and just what it is that attracts us all to it. I spent the rest of the flight gazing out of the window at the cloud formations below and dug my camera out to take a few photos. Even the drive home didn't diminish my sense of well being which lasted until I went on line after dinner and read the latest saga at a flying organisation that I have been considering getting involved with - petty backbiting and politicking:ace::csm:, multiple factions of members, committee members resigning in disgust, all while the very future of their access to the airfield is under threat. Makes you wonder who the childish ones really are!

 

 

[winsor68]

Nice post... I thought it was going to be a grumble about screaming kids on aircraft. Turned out to be something completely different. lol

 

 

[denmit]

A good read Spin - thanks for taking the time. Like you, I often need to travel by air to various state capitals and back to Canberra and the "machine" is, I think, deliberately designed to take any suggestion of actually flying out of the experience. But every now and then I get a window seat forward of the leading edge of the 737 or 767 I'm in and I thoroughly enjoy just being up there, gazing into the white canyons of cloud or down upon mere mortals scurrying along on highways - even after many thousands of hours as an airline passenger and many hundreds as a pilot.

 

It's why we do what we do isn't it - and I bet that young 4 year old will be one of us in a couple of decades.

 

denmit

 

 

[facthunter]

Spin, a nice bit of contemplation. We notice what is not right and get irritated by it often but ignore the amazing things going on around us. If we can make every trip a voyage of discovery of some kind or other we will get so much more out of it all. Nev

 

 

[youngster]

We are heading to the USA next week on the A380 with our baby and 21 month old. The older one loves "panes", and starts saying "pane, pane, pane" every time he hears a light plane fly over our house. He already loves coming to meet me at the airport, and I think he will be gleeful looking out the windows at SYD. Hopefully I'll have a licence in a year or so and will be able to take him up for a lap or two!

 

 

[farri]

Goodonya Spin!

 

The modern people mover has to hit some turbulance for anyone to know they are flying.

 

I reckon the little feller would love "Franks Airline"!

 

With "Franks Airline", there`s no hassles at the gate and flying is guaranteed!

 

Frank.

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

I recall the first flight my son had at about five years of age, from Melbourne to Brisbane. He was quite excited right from leaving home and as you say Spin, he was kept interested by tarmac activity out the boarding lounge window while waiting. My wife and I gave him the window seat when we boarded and soon we were airbourne.... up through some light cloud with a little turbulence and into brilliant sunshine and the wide expanse of blue sky, with no turbulence. It was then he suddenly exclaimed "We've stopped!"

 

This was quite perceptive as there being nothing close to which to reference the motion of the aircraft, there is no sensation of speed. He was quite happy when we explained the situation and pointed out that you could see gradual motion with respect to landmarks on the ground, way below. I must ask him one day if he remembers and whether he understood the explanation of relative motion at the time

 

 

[youngster]

We just completed CFS-SYD-LAX-ORD-FNT with our two little ones. The 22 month old just loved staring out the window at the airports and pointing out all the "Biiiiiig panes". There is something magical about flyin, whether you are 22 months old, or 90 years old.