What got you into flying?

[farri]

I learned to fly to overcome a fear of flying!!.

Goodonya!....Our eldest grandson`s girlfriend, suffered the fear of flying so bad, she would get physically ill in the passenger airliners!

 

I gave her encouragement over a period of a couple of years, until one day recently she decided to come with me, for a fly in the Drifter! Fear?...Not a bit! she was so excited!...Since then, Her and our Grandson have flown to Barli, for a holiday, with no problems at all.

 

Frank.

 

 

[Pearo]

Goodonya!....Our eldest grandson`s girlfriend, suffered the fear of flying so bad, she would get physically ill in the passenger airliners!I gave her encouragement over a period of a couple of years, until one day recently she decided to come with me, for a fly in the Drifter! Fear?...Not a bit! she was so excited!...Since then, Her and our Grandson have flown to Barli, for a holiday, with no problems at all.

 

Frank.

Yup, I used to get physically sick also!

 

 

[Nightmare]

Yup, I used to get physically sick also!

I know it's a little off topic but I took a Pax up recently who was terrified of flying. It was so bad for him, that once he got a job at the other side of the country, instead of flying there, he went by coach, I think it took him 4 days. I was just about to leave the circuit to show him the countryside, when he said he couldn't handle it and to land immediately, which we did. When taxiing back, he said, "that wasn't so bad, can we go again, but just stay at that height?" I said, "Cool! we can do touch and goes" and we did, about a half dozen of them, he loved the take off and landings. Weirdly enough, he wants to go for another fly with me.

[Soleair]

Soared mountain wave to 22000 thousand feet!!

Blimey ron, 22 million feet! That's seriously high - good on yer!

 

 

[skylink hornet]

Thought I would start a thread to hear how you got into flying...what made you suddenly think about learning to fly or was it a family thing?For me I wanted to be a pilot or a policeman when I was a kid but an eye accident stopped those dreams until later in life I accidentally found out that I could fly...you know, saying something at the right time and place, so within a week I had my first lesson and the rest is history.

 

How did you get into flying?

A friend declined the offer in a quicksilver many years ago, so i took his spot. Said to the Boss when i returned home, have a guess what our new hobby is, 'i say know more '.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Dad was ex-RAAF and made me a model Tiger Moth when I was five. Then I made Airfix models and rubber-band models and read Biggles. First flight in a Piper Cub with my uncle. Failed to get a Qantas cadetship. Started training when I was 18 and won a scholarship that paid half the cost of my training. GA pilot for 45 years. RAA as well last eight years. I recently took a CASA- required sleep apnoea test and am seeing the specialist tomorrow. Will report back on whether my flying continues.

 

 

[facthunter]

The apnea thing is the latest of their populist fascinations. I'm surprised they are still pushing it. If you report ever falling asleep at the tele, you are gone. With some most of the drivel shown, how would one stay awake? Good luck..Nev.

 

 

[derekliston]

I've wanted to fly as far back as I can remember. Mum and Dad were both mechanics in the airforce during the war. I built model aeroplanes since airfix kits cost 2 shillings and went on to become an aircraft mechanic myself. Had my first flying lesson with Jock Dalgleish at Edinburgh Flying Club when I was about 18, washed the club's aeroplanes to pay for it, lots of black bellied Cessnas, carried on lessons at British Airways Flying Club (Who knew BA had tomahawks and Cherokees?) and finally got my licence with Wycombe Air Centre whilst working for Tony Bianchi's Personal Plane Services. What finally drove me to it was my father telling me "people like us don't fly aeroplanes" well, you know what? not only fly one but built and own one (Even if I did bend it on landing!)

 

 

[red750]

The apnea thing is the latest of their populist fascinations. I'm surprised they are still pushing it. If you report ever falling asleep at the tele, you are gone. With some most of the drivel shown, how would one stay awake? Good luck..Nev.

Talking of falling asleep,

 

http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/delta-air-lines-ghost-flight-over-greece/news-story/1d1cae2ef7325a8e525bb22750a9eda1

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Grew up in an isolated valley (my pen name) and read voraciously about flying adventures. About the only aircraft we saw was a regular low-flying freighter. Its slow revving radials got me hooked. (Many decades later, at a fly-in, I met an old aviator who turned out to be the pilot of that old plane!)

 

Gliding in the 70's was curtailed by domestic responsibilities; like a lot of blokes here, years later my wench gave me every support in getting back into the air...and out of the house.

 

 

[facthunter]

The Greek airlines plane had a pressurisation failure due to crew operating it wrong. Hypoxia...Nothing to do with being asleep. Rostering practices and unsuitable overnight (or day) rest contribute to fatigue. Long flights etc Even flying within the rules you can do 23 hours of duty legally with one extra crew person. "Mixed Shifts" where you never have a stable work/sleep pattern contribute to long term accumulation of fatigue and inability to sleep well. Minimum rest periods not adhered to to keep on schedule next day where crew is with aeroplane.

 

I got excellent cabin service one night by asking the Purser if any of the cabin crew had an alarm clock we could borrow, to prevent overflying Perth as we had both been working hard the previous day. (White lie of course, but it worked). Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Crickey Nev, that would get their attention!

 

 

[facthunter]

Well there is more to it. After the request to borrow the clock I asked the crew to pretend to be asleep, and the cockpit door opened a few minutes later, closed with no one entering and then an alarm clock was brought up, plus very attentive service for the rest of the flight. Hell, I hate myself sometimes. ha ha ..Nev

 

 

[OzBirdy]

What got you into flying?

 

Need.

 

 

[WayneL]

As a grade 3 student in the mid '60's, I always looked forward to opening a new box of Kellogg's cereals to find the snap together plastic model aircraft. Was given a Biggles book once for my birthday but I wanted a Matchbox car so I 'ran a way' to the local shop to buy one 'cause I was in a bad mood over getting the book over the car! Got a grilling over that.......assumed Mum would drive up the street to pick me up, I didn't know that Mum's Hillman Hunter was broken. She rang Dad to get him home early.........., ....... I had returned home by then!

 

Never did read that or any Biggles book! Anyway I am getting side tracked.....

 

Go back a year to grade 2 at Frenchville state school in Rocky.........I have a vivid memory of walking out of class onto the verandah and hearing a lot of noise coming from above the parade ground between the school buildings. What I saw was a Bell 47G hovering just above roof height with the pilot leaning out for a look, he was a cowboy...flannelette shirt and big hat and boots.

 

Went back to class shouting to all to come and see! Also the same year, 1965, I remember being picked up by dad in the morning so we could go out to see the BIG Ansett sikorsky heli coming up from Brissy on the way to the Whitsundays to enter service to Hayman Is. I am sure this sparked my interest in heli's. I have owned and flown RC heli's since getting my first job and currently have large scale RC Bell 47G petrol engined model that is reserved for those special club flyin days. Booked a 1 hr trial flight in a R22 with Helicopters Brisbane once to see if the RC model experience was helpful, at the end of the session I was able to hover taxi from the western side of Archerfield back to the eastern side with no assistance from the instructor (I think he was impressed). Could never justify the expense to get to commercial licence though!

 

 

[facthunter]

What got you into flying?Need.

Airline food and lifestyle. Nev .Its a joke, Neil (I tried being serious, a couple of times). Didn't really work.

[gandalph]

I used to collect beer bottles 10 shillings a hundred then take a joy fly't at Bankstown airport in a Rapide .(early 50's)Plus mucked around with models , still have two of my old engines one diesel one glow plug . (made our own diesel fuel in those days .)

Bernie .

Bernie, that would've been Sid Marshall's DH Dragon ( not a Rapide though). My dad was mates with Sid and we'd go to the corner near Milperra road road for a chat every few weekends. If there weren't many passengers for the Dragon Sid would often say to me "you'd better hop in to keep the tail down." I got to see quite a lot of Bankstown and surrounds. Do you ever go up in his Avro Anson?

 

 

[pmccarthy]

My uncle Lyle McCarthy used to hire a plane from Sid Marshall and hang about the hangar. He took me there a few times and I remember the aeroplanes well in the early sixties. I think there was a jap zero as well. Wish I had owned a camera then.

 

 

[gandalph]

There was indeed a Zero as well as the ex C H Degotardi real state Co's Lockheed 10b Electra, a DC2 and a hangar full of other interesting craft that I have forgotten. Degotardi were supposedly notorious known for flying potential customers from Bankstown to Katoomba to look at potential properties and then even flying them back IF they bought a property (urban myth?) .

 

IIRC Sid's Mechanic got into a bit of trouble with the DCA as it then was, by flying his Tiger Moth under the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the day of Sid's funeral as a mark of respect. I believe Sid's Dragon ended up in Great Britain somewhere, the Anson was mothballed because of the problem with the glue used to bond the main spars. No idea what happened to the rest of the treasures.

 

 

[facthunter]

There was a Ryan, VH AHD there with a sheared mag fibre coupler I was interested in. Had an Eagle on a blue background on both sides of the fuselage. Nev

 

 

[red750]

Here are a couple of very old photos of VH-AHD, one with a canopy.

 

vh-ahd

 

If you go to the link to VH-AGD on that page, note the stand of pine trees in the bottom photo. Many, many years since they were at Moorabbin.

 

 

[facthunter]

Can't open it. Thanks for trying. I have a black and white slide (transparency) somewhere Nev Have opened it, now Shows the eagle on the side. You also have my SAG pictured, and a few Airline Jetplanes. I've flown. Interesting. Good work.

 

 

[red750]

Can't open it. Thanks for trying. ...

Not sure why the link didn't work - it worked OK for me on two separate computers, two versions of Windows. It was from the Ed Coates Collection - www.edcoatescollection.com and follow the links. Don't click on the above link, not available from this server. Copy the link into your browser address bar.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Here is uncle Lyle and his then fiancé Maureen at Bankstown in 1960. Anyone recognise the plane?

 

 

 

[aj_richo]

Maybe its not so good to go there...(edcoatescollection) our proxy server says..