A young Genex with a brand new drivers licence was driving the lovely Dot Macfarlane home from an evening church youth group function in North Essendon one evening in Essendon when we decided to visit Essendon Airport, maybe 2200 ish. It was apparent to Dot I fear that while I had designs on her (yes Genex is only human....but the designs remained way unfulfilled) my real interest in life was the thought of seeing a brand new DC-9. We walked thru the terminal, out the front (was that Bay 1?) opened the gate in the fence and walked up the stairs of a '9, all powered up. It was the coolest thing a young Genex had ever seen. I still remember the multi-coloured FD-108. Next time I saw something as wonderful was my first view of the 777 cockpit.
Within a year of the Essendon visit, I was privileged to sit on the flight deck on a DC-9 going into Adelaide as Reg (Ike) Eisenhauer checked Nev Grady. I've never been so spellbound. 5 years later flew them for 4 happy years as an F/O then another 11 years got my initial command on the '9. Final check at Avalon with Alan Coleman then MEL-BNE-TSV-CNS-BNE-SYD-OOL-SY over two days of the worst weather (SYD-OOL-SYD) I had ever seen for my line check with Keith Duncan.
TAA was responsible for much of the avionics spec of the DC-9-30. Remember the sheer capabilities of the TAA Engineering School and Technical Services then? Ross Brandy lives somewhere near me and I see him from time to time.....he was very instrumental in developing the '9 from a sheet of options to the real thing.
Someone else can relate what a stock-standard, SOP driven wonderful fleet and operation Eddie Clark, Don Winch and Bill Maloney etc built. What I learned then kept Genex alive in many foreign climes for many many years.
Sigh.........never again.