Do you remember what it was like the first time you flew on a commercial passenger airline? As a child I had flown a lot in private plans (my uncle was a pilot), but I was in college when I first flew in a commercial airline. The plane was an old propeller-driven DC-3 (sometimes called a Goony Bird) and it was a rough flight through the Rocky Mountains.
For the next three decades I flew a lot. Many of the airlines that I regularly flew no longer exist and are long forgotten: Hughes Air West (fondly known as Air Worst), Tree Top Airlines (real name: Trans-Texas), and one called the Ruptured Duck (I don’t even remember the actual airline name).
There was a time when airline seats were comfortable and the airlines served food. Now the seats have become smaller—apparently capitalism way of responding to the fact that American bottoms have gotten larger—and knee room is a thing of the past. I have finally reached the point where I avoid flying if at all possible.
Shown above are some models of passenger planes on display at the Oregon Air and Space Museum in Eugene, Oregon.
Shown above are some of the passenger planes on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
So how do you feel about flying? What was your first experience like? Do you enjoy flying?