Going Backwards

I've loved airplanes since I was a little kid. There's just something about them that has fascinated me. I think that a lot of people would probably say the same thing, and so I'm not saying that I'm necessarily special or anything.

My mild obsession has carried over into many aspects of my life so far. From kindergarten til 5th or 6th grade, I can remember many times I got into trouble for "drawing airplanes instead of doing schoolwork." When I read, which is often, I read mostly about airplanes, dogfights, and other air war type subjects. I feel like I have an eerie connection with the airmen of World War II. TV shows having to do with airplanes are high on my watch list. The History Channel started doing some computer animated dogfight deals, and I think that I could watch them for hours straight.

When I was a kid growing up, I would sit for hours and put together model airplanes. The first one I ever remember doing was with my dad in our old house on Sherwood Dr. I'm pretty sure that it was an F14, and I remember being so pissed off that you had to put the decals in water. I thought they were stickers!! I don't even think that we painted the thing. Years later I got into a WWI flight simulator, and was back to building. Those little beasties took me a day to put together and paint, and after that it was off to the races.

In middle school my buddy John and I started building all sorts of planes. I think that I went through 10 in one summer, which may not seem like a lot, but if you're building them like I do today, you're doing one every few months...maybe. I finally met someone who really knew how to put together a proper model when I was in high school. My girlfriend's older brother was an amazing model airplane builder (and still is.) He showed me the ropes, and basically overnight was on the road to making...well, BETTER products than I had before, and found has been sheer joy for me.

I titled this post "Going Backwards," because, after a 4 or 5 year hiatus, I'm back to building again. It's not as simple as just going back a few years, it's going all the way back to building those little airplanes when I was a kid with my dad. Back to helping John slather on chrome silver paint on his 1:48 scale B29, that was simply covered in fingerprints, after walking to his house a few miles away during the summer of '91. Back to trips to San Antonio with Scott who was like a big brother to me, and helped me to find this hobby that has so effectively connected me to one of my first loves.

It takes me back to being a kid again, and I like that.

One of my recent finished airplanes: