vincent p. norris wrote
Like it or not, "history marches on." Aviation is not as romantic as
it was when I was a kid. Pilots no longer wear helmet, goggles, and a
silk scarf.

Why not? Those things are still there, and still available to us.
I've worn the helmet, goggles, and silk scarf, and I've looped and
rolled an open cockpit biplane over the countryside. So could you.
For what that plane cost, you couldn't buy a half-decent C-172, and
the operating cost wasn't any higher. No, the plane wasn't as safe,
comfortable, or easy to fly as the Cessna - but the romance of
aviation does not come from safety, comfort, or ease of operation.

Personally, I think the reason so many kids have lost interest in
aviation is that, in a futile attempt to make it safe, we've squeezed
the life out of it.

Michael