Flights and Fancy: Like Father, Like Daughter
- By David Unekis
- Air & Space magazine, January 2010
The author’s daughter, spellbound by a Hercules C-130, had little interest in the B-2 bomber that was entertaining an airshow crowd at the moment the photo was snapped.
Courtesy David Unekis
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who look up, reflexively, whenever they hear an aircraft engine, and those who don't. My seven-year-old daughter Addie appears to be in the latter category. As a member of the former, I have been hoping that as she grows up, she'll share my interest in airplanes.
I thought a total immersion might help, so I took her to her first airshow, the 2007 Kansas City Aviation Expo. Extra added bonus: I knew a B-2 flyby was scheduled. I had once seen one on static display, but never a flyby.
As we made our way through the main gate, an F-15 was making low passes, afterburners on full. "Dad, Dad, there it is!" she shouted as it flashed behind hangars. As soon as we were in, she saw a FedEx freighter with its cargo door open. "Dad! Let's go in there!" Addie mostly wanted to play on the rollers embedded in the cargo area floor, as if she were skating. Okay, this was fun, but I wanted her to see actual flying airplanes. But after 15 minutes: "Dad, can we go home now? I'm hot." I checked my watch: another hour until the B-2 flyby.
We killed some time wandering around the static displays, and I pointed out something interesting or appealing about each one. A smoke-generating aerobatic lightplane briefly caught her attention, as did a thundering 300-mph jet truck. By now, the B-2 was just minutes away.
Addie spotted a C-130 with its cargo ramp down. I tried to convince her to look at a V-22 Osprey parked nearby, which I had never seen up close, but Addie insisted on the Herc. A line snaked out the back, so I figured we'd still be outside when the B-2 appeared.
Let me explain my relationship with the C-130. A fine airplane it is, but between the many airshows I've attended and visits to my father's base on his Air National Guard weekends, I had been in and out of a Hercules about 12,000 times. I most assuredly did not want to miss the B-2 for another walk through the spartan interior of a C-130.
Of course the line moved fast, and we were soon just inside. The crowd outside began to stir, arms pointing up, and the jet roar began to build. I grabbed Addie like a sack of grain and ran outside in time to see the B-2 make a level pass. It then looped across the far end of the field, returned for a banked pass, rolled out the opposite way—and disappeared. Was that it? No one seemed to know, and Addie was getting antsy. So before the line had completely re-formed, we went back in the C-130. This time Addie made friends with another child.
Suddenly the roar echoed overhead. "Addie, the Stealth is back—come on!" I pleaded.
Comments (1)
As a private pilot and aviation history buff, it's a stated goal in my life to influence at least one of my grandchildren to become a pilot. I have 4 grandchildren under 6 years old so there's plenty of time. Right now, I'd say by best bet is my 5 year old granddaughter Violet. She's fearless and seems interested when a plane flies over. I even bought her some children's books in the "Violet the Pilot" series. It's too soon to tell but I'm going to really give it a try. When the weather gets better, I'll give her a ride in my Cherokee and see how she likes it.
Posted by Larry J on February 15,2010 | 05:56 PM