Obsessions

[GARY HILTON]

I guess I have been in denial for some period of time now..my better half has claimed for some time that I an obsessed with airplanes, warbirds especially. My reply all these years has been, no, I just have a passion for them. I got her point when she clarified the difference between the two....she said "Passion is only for five or six minutes, obsessed is every day, all the time!"

Wife..1, Me..0

Because I have tried (still working on it) to see every existing B-17 and PV-2 that I possibly can, I submit that it could be obsessive, but I'll be darned if I am going to let a female rain on my parade! (Oh, she can do it too...with thunder and lightning!)

Time for ya'll to come out of the closet...what's YOUR aviation obsession?

Mr. Thompson, I'll let you off the hook, cause at least you've published your sins!!

G

[The Inspector]

I've been involved in aviation about 45 years, in that time I've HAD two wives , still on the fringes of aviation, but no longer have to call to say 'I might be a bit late...' because the cat don't care when I get in.

My obsessions? If it flies, I'm interested, some more, some less, but still interested

[bomberflight]

I'm not obsessed by warbirds

It's just that I'm from the gene pool that has WARBIRDS writ large in my DNA

[michaelharadon]

Joining the mile high club.

[kalamazookid]

I wouldn't say obsession, but a goal of mine is to some day help organize a warbird show. Over the years, I've done a lot of research on what it takes. I feel like I've learned enough that I could put together something decent if I had some help. The problem for me is time. Since I'm a college student with an internship and a part-time job, there isn't enough free time I could devote to planning something. Throw in the fact that I'll be graduating in December and not knowing where I'm going to end up after that, it makes the idea of putting together an event here seem pretty stupid. I'm hoping some day I end up near a place that has a local organization I can work myself into or partner with to make something happen. Even if it's something as small as an EAA Fly-In or airport open house.

Other than that, I try to see what I can with what little time and money I have, while balancing it with my other interests. I usually hit one or two big airshows a year (always Thunder Over Michigan and sometimes Indianapolis) and go to about a half dozen fly-in's within about an hour or two drive from here. Enough to get my fix. Throw in a couple days at the Air Zoo here and there and that's usually good enough for me.

I do have a couple trips I'd like to do someday that revolve around warbirds. I'm hoping that next year is the year I can do my Canadian road trip centered around the airshow at Hamilton or one of Vintage Wings of Canada's events. I'd like to hit the CH2A, CHAA, the RCAF Museum at Trenton, CWH, Toronto Aerospace Museum, the National Aviation Museum of Canada, and VWOC. The other thing I'd like to do someday is go to some of the museums in the Northwest: FHC, Seattle Museum of Flight, John Sessions' museum, Olympia, and Tillamook. If I can do either of those, I'll be pretty happy.

[whistlingdeath77]

if you pay your bills, take care of the wife and kids and go to work everyday, you have every right to have such a great passion for anything. your not hurting anybody so you should be able to love them warbirds however much you want.

Husband-1 Wife-0

[K5DH]

if you pay your bills, take care of the wife and kids and go to work everyday, you have every right to have such a great passion for anything. your not hurting anybody so you should be able to love them warbirds however much you want.
Husband-1 Wife-0

You're apparently not married.

[airnutz]

if you pay your bills, take care of the wife and kids and go to work everyday, you have every right to have such a great passion for anything. your not hurting anybody so you should be able to love them warbirds however much you want.
Husband-1 Wife-0

You're apparently not married.

Jim Beasley uttered probably one of the all time great quotes about why he had to sell his barely used two-wheeled rice rocket, something to the effect of, "Apparently, buy what the f*ck you want, it's your money, did not mean the same thing to her as it did to me."...or somesuch similar words.

If someone saved that ad, I wish they would repost it...hilarious!

[m charters]

Aviation is borderline crazy....as i say to my guys, "you don't have to be crazy to work in aviation, but it sure helps!"
I work 5 days a week in aviation maintenance then volunteer at CWH when i can on weekends. It is a passion, and an obsession.
I cut my teeth on warbirds when i was 14, 30 years later I still love it! If the money was better with warbirds, I'd give up corporate jets! But the wife wins this one, as she has her standards that she is used to!

[RareBear]

m charters,

Reminds me of a T-shirt I once had that said "I know there's money in aviation - I put it there."

michaelharadon,

The mile-high club sounds more like a passion than an obsession. See previous definitions.

Walt

[Sully]

I learned how to make a small fortune in aviation.








Start with a big one.

Sully

[Chris]

My obsession is working on warbirds that no one else really wants to be around. Everyone wants to work on the obvious, Corsairs, Mustangs but I really have a soft spot for the neglected or overlooked types.

[Steve Nelson]

I would love to be involved with warbirds, but just don't have the time or money. I used to volunteer as a docent at the Air Zoo on weekends, but my crazy work schedule won't allow that anymore (plus I was single back then.)

Aside from WIX addiction, the only warbird related obsession I indulge in is of the miniature variety..I have a stash of over 500 model kits in the basement (almost all 1/72 WWII aircraft, so they don't take up that much space.) But I don't smoke or drink, and I figure that even accounting for supplies, reference materials and travel to the occasional model show, I still spend less on my obsession per year than some guys I know spend on beer and cigarettes.

Of course it helps that my wife supports my obsession, and even dabbles in the hobby herself..we actually met on an online model building forum.

SN

[Russ Blow]

I cant say I am obsessed by them. I love to fly my L 4 but don't usually do the fly ins and things. We have a great air museum here in VB as well as a lot of other warbirds at Suffolk. I will look at them when they are out and like to stop by the museum once a year or so but that's about it. I will stop whenever I hear a radial fly over and love to watch them airborne.

But to be honest I can get bored watching them because I want to fly them. That is my obsession. Getting stick time, passenger time whatever. I have 5 aircraft on my bucket list I would like to fly. The PT 19, BT 13, AT 17 and C 46 all because those are the planes my dad flew in WW 2 and I would love to get an idea of what he did. The 5th and probably the one I will never have a shot at is the F4F / FM 2 Wildcat. I have no real clue why of all the great fighters of the day I picked it but I have been fascinated by them since I was a kid.

Now I need to get rich pretty quick I guess if I am ever to operate one.

[Lt51506]

For me, it's neither passion nor obsession. It's in my blood - literally. Having grown up on a tanker base, I remember my first "real" booboo was slipping an falling in an oil puddle under a TBM. With two skinned knees oozing a mixture of blood and oil, well, it was official. Over the years, all the skinned knuckles, lacertaions and what not - that have had copious amounts of oil, avgas, hydraulic fluid introduced into them. Yes sir, aviation in definately in my blood.

My first three wives couldn't understand but my fourth one is a definate keeper! Not only is she an airplane nut too, but she knows what she's looking at when she see's it (type/model). I feel truely blessed.

So, to my wonderful wife who as allowed me to be me and enjoy my aviation pursuits wherever they take me. I just hope when I get old, she doesn't about those oil stains I may occasionally leave on the furnature.