Flying when you were a child

[Jonny Baxter]

Re: Flying when you were a child

My first flight was on (I think) a Handley Page Herald in 1972.
Dad thought it would be nice to go on holiday in Guernsey, so we left from Bournemouth airport or Hurn as it was then. The aircraft's route was first to Jersey, then Guernsey. When we landed in Jersey, the people getting on were all suntanned and the weather was hot. We were excited.
But on arriving in Guernsey, it was foggy and cold. It remained that way for the duration of the holiday, so not one of the best apart from the flight.

I was not allowed to sit next to the window as it was an escape exit. I just wanted to see the wheels go up!

[Kaptain_Von]

Re: Flying when you were a child

The first aircraft I flew in was a Pan Am 747 in the 70s although before that I had been in a Folland Gnat albeit not actually flying (dad was ex-RAF and as a treat for my 8th birthday arranged for me to get to sit in the cockpit of a Gnat). Since then I've flown a Chipmunk and been passenger in an assortment of military and civilian aircraft.

The most terrifying though were flights in a rather worn Avro Anson being used as a civilian aircraft whilst working in South America in the 1980s. When I told my father his reply was "Oh yes! The Anson, we used to have one as the squadron hack, lovely plane to fly in!". My censored answer was "Not when you can see through the &%$£@?# floor!"

[Shado66]

Re: Flying when you were a child

My first flight was in 1979 when I was 13. It was long flight, visiting my Aunt and cousins in the States for the first time with my Dad. It was on a Laker Sktytrain DC10 from Gatwick. Remember Freddie Laker? They went bust in the 80's after a couple of well publicized accidents and with a lot of alleged dirty dealing from the Big operators. It was a good flight as far as I can remember going the northern route over greenland and flying in JFK in New York. We sat next to a guy who was returning to the states after trying out with a number of football teams in the UK. He said that the most promising had been with Notts County, who were definitely interested in him, but thought he should play in the states for a few years before trying again. The Laker planes were pretty basic in hindsight and looked well used. I can always remember the novelty of watching an in flight movie with headphones that you had to buy as extra. My dad, bless him, bought one and we shared an ear. It was the film California suite. We left london on a damp July day and arrived 8 hours later in sweltering sunshine. Even though we'd set out about 3pm it was only about 6 when we arrived because of the time difference. That messed with my head for ages. Coming back we left at 6pm still in daylight and arrived the next day at nearly 7am in the morning!

[PC66]

Re: Flying when you were a child

I'm another late starter who never flew as a child - First time was 1987 when I was 21, going to Majorca. A few years later I embarked on multiple trans-Atlantic and internal flights within the U.S. and loved it. At one point I even had the notion of training for a private pilot's license and had a half-hour ride with an instructor in a 2-seater Cessna so that I could "have a go" at the basics. Never did follow up on the idea though.

[victorbrunswick]

Re: Flying when you were a child

I hadn't flown in years. One of the times I vaguely remember was flying to Hawaii on a Boeing 707 when I was little. This thread is a bit poignant for me right now because in January I'm going on holiday to Florida to go to Walt Disney World and am nervous as hell at the prospect of flying there.

[darren]

Re: Flying when you were a child

youll be fine victor i know it.

apparently i did fly but was too young to remember it.

it was just a short hop to england.

[staffslad]

Re: Flying when you were a child

Hardly a child, but my first flight was on a Boeing 737 to the Costa Brava in 1981 when I was 19. The flight out was awful, late at night, very bouncy, and I was sick as a dog. Possibly I was also culprit to some extent as they gave us free wine with the meal and I had a glass--only one, honest. I sat at the front and there was a plaque saying that this particular B737 was the 737th to have been built.

Worst airline flight? Once, many years ago, on an East European airline I won't name. My wife and I were at the front and at take-off the cabin crew sat on those little seats and pulled across a curtain, which I hadn't seen before on a flight. Seconds later, cigarette smoke came out of gaps in the curtain. They were actually smoking during take-off. The meal was also diabolical: some kind of awful salad that was like eating damp paper. I'm not even sure the old Tu-134 even had functioning ovens as everything was cold.

[zabadak]

Re: Flying when you were a child

Duplicate, soz...

[zabadak]

Re: Flying when you were a child

My first flight was to Costa Blanca when I was, I think, 5...

We flew on a Comet IV, from Luton Airport.

[Cartimand]

Re: Flying when you were a child

I have very vague memories of flying from Malta to the UK in a RAF Hastings when I was about 4 years old.
My late father was in the RAF based as Luka just outside Valetta in the 60s.
I can recall the flight being incredibly noisy!