Passion

By Matt Ferrari

One thing I’ve learned in all of my years in aviation is that it is passion that keeps me going. This love of aviation has brought me great joy and helped to satisfy an intense sense of wonder

Me in the B767, I’m currently flying 767. that I have for this world we share and the sky above it. We all became involved in this life style as a result of an initial spark that ignited a curiosity. Something or someone planted an aeronautical seed which has sprouted.

One of the first sparks I can remember came when I was maybe six or seven years old. I was digging around in the basement of my grandmother’s house. My grandfather was in England during World War Two with the 8Th Air Force. I opened an old trunk that grandma kept his uniforms in and I put on his hat which was too big for my head, his jacket or a uniform shirt and pants that I would pull up to my armpits with several inches of leg to spare. I sat on the edge of the trunk and pretended I was flying a B-17 over Germany. I didn’t realize at the time that the flag I had wrapped myself in to celebrate my successful bomb run was the flag that covered his casket at his funeral. After returning home from the war he adopted my mother and her sister, which is another story in itself. Another testament of the man whose uniforms felt so good on me. Unfortunately he died before I was born and I never got the chance to know him, but my hero he will always be.

Another early memory I have is laying in the grass with my childhood dog Sam. We would watch the clouds drift past and wonder what it would be like to ride on one. I would imagine Sam and I sitting on the edge of

a cloud looking down as the world passed below. That sense of wonder has never left me.

These are just a couple of mine, but when I think about it, I can place several memories or events that lay themselves out, footstones along my path. I’ll bet that if you would look back you might find a few memories that stand out for you too, markers along your aeronautical journey, strung together like pearls bringing you here, today. Hints from heaven maybe?

Part of this passion I speak of is dreaming. And I mean dreaming big! Where would we be if it wasn’t for the likes of Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Bob Hoover, Jimmy Doolittle, Steve Wittman, Burt and Dick Rutan, Paul and Audrey Poberezny, Julie Clark, Sean Tucker, Patty Wagstaff, Lloyd Stearman, Clyde Cessna, William Piper, Bill Boeing, and the brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier? These are just a few of the many we owe our thanks to for getting us this far. Take these as examples of people, just like you and me, who weren’t afraid of following their dreams. They worked hard and accomplished so much with their lives. I find it truly inspiring! It’s up to you and me to keep dreaming and forging ahead.

I remember the days when my dream of learning to fly was so far out in front of me, it seemed unreachable in so many ways. I never let go of the dream though. Eventually the fears and doubts, one by one, were laid aside and something inside of me knew that one day I would fly. Even with the frustrations and obstacles along the way that tested my resolve, a sense of calm would return and I knew that if I stayed the course, I would make it.

As I wandered along my aeronautical journey, I found that flying helped me to make sense of the world around me. What I mean is, most everything that I had learned in school, even the things that didn’t seem to apply, made sense with airplanes and the sky.

Today I think they refer to it as STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. I’ve also noticed a new acronym STEAM with the addition of the “A” for Arts. Back when I was in school, though, they just called it the three R’s - “readin’, ritin’ and rithmatic”.

Maybe that’s why I took to the sky? Academics wasn’t my strong suit. Anyway, flying has introduced me to an outlet for real world applications of the sciences through getting to know weather, geography, physiology, physics and astronomy. I’ve been exposed to various forms of technology. Some examples are the communication systems, advancing forms and techniques of navigating and navigation systems, air traffic control systems and flight management systems. Engineering is everywhere in aviation. Think of engines, airframes, airfoils, wings and wing designs, aircraft systems, aircraft construction materials and techniques, the list goes on and on. There’s a little math in all areas of aviation, but don’t let that scare you. Get to know certain formulas that apply to what you’re doing and the rest will take care of itself. I’m certainly no mathematical wizard and I get by just fine. With the addition of the arts, we find many examples in aviation that meet that need as well; product design challenges and effective communications, which are critical in all areas from verbal to written. Another area I’ll attribute to the arts is creative thinking. What I mean here is being flexible enough to take the infinite number of variables that the sky and your airplane will throw at you and being able to herd these aeronautical chickens in the general direction of your desired outcome. It’s about following your flight plan, making constant corrections and adapting to the environment you find yourself in. Aviation is a dynamic environment where you’ll be called upon to manage sometimes rapidly changing and occasionally complex situations and make critical decisions, all in real time. It’s called “aeronautical decision making”, this is where art meets science. In the sky is where it all makes sense.

One of the ways that I nurture my passion for aviation is through reading. At any given time, I’ll have at least one or two flying related books in the reading process. I find I do better with books in actual book form rather than “e-books.” Electronics are a very easy and convenient distraction that I find draw me away from my reading, often venturing off to the internet looking at airplane ads online at Trade-A-Plane or on Barnstormers. What I find really frustrating is when I’m reading something on my phone and my book rings! No one knows the number to my paperback book and I can more easily get lost in the story with fewer temptations. I’m easily distracted…

Mentors are another critical piece of the aeronautical puzzle. People who walk amongst us are sometimes the best source for inspiration and guidance. Find someone who is doing exactly what you want to do. It might be a flight instructor, an aviation mechanic, an airline pilot, a military pilot or an air traffic controller. It’s as simple as introducing yourself and asking the first question. I’m going to let you in on an aeronautical secret, aviation people love to talk! Most of us are willing to share our experiences along the course we followed to get where we are today. My path might not be the one you choose, but it might give you some ideas for things that could work for you. Everyone has a story, listen and learn.

If I can leave you with one thought, with one hope that I have for you, that would be to find your passion, fuel it and follow it! Whatever your dream is, you can make it come true! It may require some work, but you have the tools to make it happen. I encourage you to find the courage to go for it!

You never know, you just might be the inspiration for someone else.

If you’re looking at building your library of good aviation reads, I’ll suggest a few of my favorite authors for you to check out. I’ll even go as far as saying that I consider this brief list to be the creators of what I consider to be the aviation classics. These writers set a good foundation and any of their works would be an excellent addition to your aeronautical library.

I’m a huge fan of everything that Richard Bach has written, but to get you started I would suggest “A Gift of Wings”. It’s a collection of short stories that are easy, delightful reads. Also take a look at “Biplane” and “Stranger to The Ground”. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention “Illusions”, a book that changed my life as a teenager. I’ve read “Illusions” literally hundreds of times and love it more with each reading. I met Richard Bach at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin many years ago and he signed my copy of “Illusions” for me. That book has been around the world with me many times. I’ve dropped it in bathtubs, swimming pools and oceans everywhere. I have had coffee spilled on it. It has dog-eared corners and tape on its spine, but I treasure it and will continue to keep the book near.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery is another writer whom I add to my list of classics. He wrote a children’s book titled “The Little Prince” that I didn’t find until I was an adult, but it’s a wonderful story. Other favorites from Saint-Ex include: “Wind, Sand and Stars”, “Night Flight”, “Airman’s Odyssey” and “Flight to Arras”. Nevil Shute is another writer I really enjoy. Some of my favorites from him include: “The Rainbow and the Rose”, “No Highway”, “Pastoral”, “Landfall: A Channel Story” and if you can find a copy, one of my favorite Shute books is “Round The Bend”. Ernest Gann is right up there on my “must read” author list as well. With his many contributions, some that stand out are “Fate is the Hunter”, “The Aviator”, “Island in the Sky”, “Blaze of Noon”, and “The High and The Mighty.”

These are just a few titles from some of my favorite authors. There are many more works done by each of these writers that I could go on and on about, but I’ll leave some exploring to you to find books and writers that suit your tastes. When you find one, please let me know, I love to hear about new discoveries and what stories mean to people.

“Illusions” autographed by Richard Bach at Oshkosh.

One of my favorite books, “Illusions”, out over the Atlantic Ocean, just passing “30 West”.