Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Why aviation?

Today I was asked a question that I haven't been asked in some time - what led me to aviation.
I graduated in 1993 with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and many questions arise because I am not, nor have I been involved in the aviation industry directly. Yet, I spend between 50,000 and 200,000 miles per year on planes. So, perhaps it is still in my blood.
Like many little boys, it started with curiosity fulfilled by my father. The trips to EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the worlds largest airport for a week - Oshkosh, Wisconsin; the 7th grade science show on Bernoulli's principle - the magic that give birth to flight. The flight so my father could take pictures of the lake house and me being fascinated with being able to see the WORLD!!
Who would have ever thought that a small difference in air pressure over an airfoil would create lift and a couple bike guys - the Wrights - would figure this out and launch this life changing thing called flight?
My love affair started in earnest with a trip to the Air Force Academy in 8th grade. The sense or order, pageantry, sacrifice, honor, duty and privilege took hold deep inside me. So did the opportunity to fly a fighter jet. Top Gun came later and was further reinforcement of this love.
Life rolled by in high school, the concept, the idea, the dream of flight growing more strong. Then...being nominated and appointed to the Air Force Academy but only as the alternate candidate - a let down, a failure that reverberated long into my life. So. I did what people do - move to plan B.
Plan B was St. Louis and Parks College and Aerospace Engineering. Going to a small school with a bunch of boys who had the same dreams I had was pretty cool. I realized then that I was a nerd and a bit of a dork....and vastly underpowered in intelligence compared to so many of my peers.
After a few years of realizing that, while I may have an engineers mindset, I absolutely did not want to be an engineer. Fortunately, international politics, two US presidents and a recession helped. So I started my career outside of flight.
Fast forward to the mid-2000's when I find myself on flights...every week...every day in some instances and flight, my dream, started to feel like a chore, a bus in the sky. Fortunately, though my flights didn't decrease, I rediscovered the joy of flight.
From the northern lights brighter than I had every witnessed before on my flight to London, to meeting interesting people,, to staring out the window and realizing how PEACEFUL the world looks from 35,000 feet. And perhaps, that's where this is going.
I can only imagine the view of God over the universe. And the next time your in plane, after trudging through an airport, accosted by security, offended by behaviors, and all the other "burdens" of travel, look out the window. What do you see?
I see a world that looks so peaceful. From 35000 feet, the lights of a police car or ambulance looks like twinkles from the lights of a Christmas tree. The baseball or football fields bring back memories of "playing under the big lights" for the first - or last time. The fields, organized in their patterns of blocks and colors, providing food and nourishment. The snow-covered peaks, the sunsets and sunrises. We get to see them all....from above. We should be overwhelmed and thankful, not ungrateful because we only get a minuscule bag of peanuts and an armrest covered by a neighbor.
I haven't publicly published to this blog in years so rather than shoot for
Perfection, up this goes.
Remember to LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND SMILE the next time you get to have a portion of the View of God. And then pray that someday you will be privileged to have the same view.
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