Introduction to Flight

Personal Insights

As a young man, in the biplane days between the World Wars, my father was interested in learning to fly but simply never had the opportunity. I guess his interest in aviation rubbed off on me and I've been a lover of anything having to do with airplanes since as long as I can remember. While growing up, I built up a big collection of model airplanes over the years that eventually grew to hundreds of World War II era planes of all the combatant countries. Even today, I have a diorama depicting the development of fighter aircraft -- from the Wright Brothers' Military Flyer to the F-111 Stealth Fighter -- on a table behind my desk at work. During the early 1970s, I had the opportunity to live out my father's dreams of flight by earning my private pilots license, learning to fly in a Piper Cherokee 140 (No. N5782U) and fly the other aircraft shown below. In this section of Sandcastle V.I., I pay tribute to some of the great military flight demonstration (aerobatic) teams of the world and take you on a virtual tour of aviation history using photos I've taken at the Smithsonian Institute's National Air and Space Museum as a backdrop. I hope you enjoy these "Dreams of Flight."

Piper Cherokee 140 N5782U

Piper Cherokee 160 N9166J

Piper Cherokee Warrior N44545

Cessna 150 Aerobat N8491M

Flight History Menu

Military Flight Demonstration Teams

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels

The U.S. Air Force Thunberbirds

The National Air and Space Museum

A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003