- b. '49;
- nuts about flight for as long as I can remember; (in fresh spring grass)
used to race DC-3's on hands and knees before/in grade school (knew what they
were);
- remember my first plastic model (pale green P-80 given each of dad's helpers
collating previously-treed bits into plastic bags for his volunteer fire
department fund raiser one year; hated the work but treasured the plane!);
- could identify all common round-engine recip airliners and 1st-generation
turboprops by sound (and can still distinguish Merlins from Allisons);
- 'discovered' (w. older brother's help) balsa wood in grade school & learned
the basics of W&B from years of hand-launched gliders;
- messed about w. plastic models (still have a few from back then!) & later
control line stuff - thought the hand-launched gliders were the most fun of
all though;
- eyesight ruled out military/airlines; to avoid having to do real
work/continue to live off parents' dole, was 'forced' to take aerospace
engineering (instead of the preferred aeronautical) due to the big NASA/moon
push in the late '60's;
- blundered into soaring through my 1st post-school job/officemate (Wil
Schuemann), hit the glider side of the field first (fall '72/license summer
'73) & never did conjur up sufficient motivation to obtain my power license
despite several years' co-ownership of a C-150/passed written/signoff to take
the practical/trip to Oshkosh in it ('79);

Something about flight in general just 'was always' in my brain, & the
fascination has never left. Soaring offered/offers a tremendous palette of
experience for those with the disease, & though all flight is good, soaring
can't be beat, IMHO!