Finally...FINALLY.. After all these years, I now know who to blame for sparking my interest in flying.
Pretty much any of you mob that flew in and out of YPID in the early to mid 80s.
My old man bought a tiny piece of land in Woolomai just back from the runway, and in those days there was barely anything there.
As a 7 or 8 year old, I would sit in the backyard wondering how the airplanes didn't crash into the cliff face, and I remember wondering why the engines stopped just before landing (of course you were at idle, i thought they stopped, but now I hear the reports of the equipment you were flying, perhaps I was right at the time.)
A mate's dad flew for royal Brunei airlines (I think thats what they were called?), and he'd come down with us on holidays and tell me all about this and that. I just sat there in awe and dreamed it was me flying. It took nearly 20 years until I followed up on that early awe, and took a TIF. Quite a few years later again, and its you guys I have to blame!
It can be easy to forget that awe sometimes, but I still cant take my eyes of a landing if i'm near a runway, I look up when aircraft flies overhead, and I
always enjoy the view from the "office"...
