Aviation

The Freedom of Flying

Every picture tells a story and every photograph of an airplane I see starts a series of questions inside my head; Who once owned this plane? What does the log book reveal ? How well has she been treated by its previous owners ? What kind of stories could this old girl tell ? What pilots have had their hands on her controls ? and Where is she now ?
 
Just before climbing into the cockpit of this 1941 DH-82 - Tiger Moth " I posed for a picture. It was my latest flight - April 2002 and one I will never forget as it was my first experience in an open cockpit.   Strapped in and ready to go. This flight was awesome. A tail dragger experience and the flight was over Duxford and Cambridge, England. This plane was allot of fun to fly. It required constant vigil and input into the flight controls. It is a pilots plane.
 
A simple yet functional cockpit. There is no Forward vision in this thing as the plane itself is a tail dragger and you sit low inside the cockpit. Taxing is interesting as you make sweeping turns back and forth to catch glimpses of what is ahead.   One very fun airplane to fly, I found myself living a dream. It was a flight I will never forget and a first in many areas for me. First flight at an overseas airport. First stick controlled plane I have flown. First open cockpit and First tail dragger.
 
747-400 Flown by friend Bob Swanson up till the time of his retirement   Friend Jay Strikes a pose in front of his aircraft a Dornier-328J
 
Bob's former office in the sky Jays office in the Sky
 
Now you see how they get it to you overnight. The Fed Ex Airforce A Big Mac on its way
 
My very first flight aboard any aircraft. Notice the old livery. My ride back from California from Marine Corp Boot Camp.
 
An old Convair 580 parked at my hometown airport, Lansing, Mi. I normally connected in Detroit on this aircraft A DC-9-30 series I routinely flew on out of Lansing or Detroit. This aircraft is noted for its ruggedness and is still being flown today.
 
One of my very favorite aircraft, the 727-200. I have had dozens of flights on this old bird and the pilots who ever flew this old girl had nothing but good things to say about its flight characteristics. It also was a big money maker for airlines years ago before being replaced by the 757.   This flight got me in trouble not to mention how it changed my life forever. I spent the day before flying to Australia to meet my future wife Ally shopping in LA with the entire flight crew from Air NZ. All 17 of those flight attendants and myself took in the day at a large mall in LA. That was a rough day :)
 
A Money Maker for the airlines a Boeing 757-200. This photo reminds me of one of the roughest flights I ever had going from Detroit to Philly during a winter storm. Pilots who fly this plane call it a Hot Rod.   As one Delta Pilot explained to me about the 767-300er. "When its half empty, we call them hold on flights. You throw those throttles forward and hold on. Its like a rocket ". I have had several flights in this big bird and enjoy its comfort. Steve, one of my pilot buddies just retired off this aircraft.
I flew this big guy to London's Heathrow in 2002. Outfitted with the latest entertainment system and some of the most comfortable seats you would want. This flight overseas and back was awesome.   I was on board this MD-11 from Orlando to Atlanta. We flew out of the back draft of a recent hurricane and it tossed this big boy all around the sky. Size meant nothing with the strong winds aloft that day. The MD-11 was a comfortable plane. Its a shame Delta sold all of their 11's.
This photo of a 737 is for my son Lin. My nickname for him Shamu was captured on this plane.   Both Jay and Bob have flown these old DC-3's. One of the most rugged built planes they hold the distinction of being one of the most highly produced planes today. Both Bob and Jay have their own stories to tell of their experiences on the flight deck of this old Gooney Bird.
 
This DC-3 seems to be telling its pilot " come on boss, I can make it. Don't let that sky fool you. Lets go ".   This photo had to be chosen as the nose art depicts my wife. They even got her middle name correct     " Esther "
A view from above. And you wonder why pilots love to fly.   On top of the clouds in a Dornier 328 with one gorgeous sky above. Pilots get a front row seat to views like this all the time.
 
This old "Connie" has lived out her useful life. Sitting in a desert she is now being stripped of useful parts and will never fly again. So sad to see.   Parked in Australia somewhere, this old girl weathers the storms tied down and waiting for a restoration.
This plane sits in the desert starring out at the mountains and sky and reliving past flights. I named this photo " All Alone ". It reminds me of some of the senior citizens I have seen in the past. They have worked their entire lives, have provided for many and now sit out their last days alone, abandoned by their families.   Look closely at this photo. It depicts a tear being shed. Parked and no where to go, this plane stands the test of time living through the extremes of weather, waiting for someone to resurrect it and put it to use again..
As this plane sits and waits to be stripped of its parts, a bird finds a home inside an engine.   When I see  an airplane such as this, I often wonder what its history was. How many flights she had. How many storms she seen. And how many different destinations it had been to.
 
One of my all time Favorite Military jets. The F-4 Phantom. Over 5,000 were built and their speed and multi use capabilities were well documented.   An author, John Trotti flew for the Marine Corp in one of these birds. A fighter jock in the famous Marine Corp " VMFA 314 " Black Knights Squadron, John seen allot of action in the sky's over Vietnam in the Spooky ( F-4 ). I really enjoyed my phone conversations with John and still have the litho prints he sent me from his book " Phantom over Vietnam ". I highly recommend the book for military aircraft book readers.

 
Every Child enjoys life experiences as provided by their parents. Pilots have a hard time these days sneaking their kids into the cockpit so this pilot found a way around it and gave his son a great " Take your child to work day " experience....:)    

 

@ Copyright 2006, 2007 by Chris Throgmartin. All rights reserved. Copying or Reprinting is prohibited without prior written consent. Additional Copyrights held by photographers of pictures above.