Privacy of the Mind

A while back, as part of a meme, Stacie asked me about my past relationship with aviation. She’s been taking flying lessons and wondered if in my exploits I ever seriously considered getting my pilot’s license. The short answer is “no” but I thought a more complete answer might make an interesting blog post. I have a history of involvement with various aspect of aerospace and aviation that goes back almost 30 years.

To tell the story I have to go back to my late pre-teen years. After my parents divorced I lived with my mother in Fayetteville, NC. It was she that introduced me to flying and got me interesting in aviation. She worked for some period of time at the airport. She got interested in flying herself through this, dated at least a couple of pilots I can remember and eventually met and married the man who would become my step-father. His initials were E.L.F. and because of this, most people called him “Elf” or “Elfie.”

Elf was an instructor pilot and licensed airframe & powerplant mechanic so he made his living flying and working on airplanes. They eventually decided to lease and operate the FBO at the Brunswick County Airport on the NC coast near Southport and Oak Island. At the time this was a small, grass strip limited to use by light airplanes and the occasional helicopter. There was a trailer that we lived in, a second trailer that was the office, two small hangars and two gas pumps.

We lived there for a couple of years as I recall. When I wasn’t at school I spent time working around the airport. Mostly cutting grass (including the grass on the runway) using a commercial turf tractor but I also refueled airplanes, washed airplanes, occasionally ran the radios to provide traffic and runway information to arriving aircraft and generally helped out.

My family owned several airplanes during that time, the two I remember the best were our Piper Cherokee 140 and our Cessna 150. The former was a four-place low wing airplane that we used to travel and to operate aerial tours around the local beaches during the summer months, the latter was a two-place high wing airplane that was used primarily for flight instruction. We also flew banners over the local beaches using the Cessna. Apart from our own flying, we also made a living support the local aerial fish spotters that flew their own airplanes to help guide the fishing fleets.

Because Elf was a flight instructor, I had the opportunity to learn a thing or two about flying. I completed ground school and had quite a few hours at the yoke of both the Piper and the Cessna. I never did solo though and have no idea where my logbook is now. It made for an interesting childhood, though I don’t think I appreciated it at the time. It did set a theme for the rest of my life, I’ve been involved with aviation in one way or another ever since. That includes a tour in the US Air Force and an ongoing 18 year career with a major US aerospace company. Looking back, I can’t say I really have any complaints.