This actually is my mother’s first flight story. My mother came to live with me and my husband a year ago in July. She suffers from dementia. Her memories change in moments. She had not seen her oldest grandson for 2 years. He moved to ND to be a pastor as a church. Since her memory is getting worse. I thought a trip to see her grandson would be a great adventure. So my 87-year-old mother took her first flight on Delta Airlines. She was nervous and we had a lot of turbulence because of an approaching storm. But she was a champ. All the flight attendants and pilots signed her first flight certificate, which now hangs in her bedroom
Author: mcowan
My First Flight: Willie Patin
The year was 1961 and my brother (Harold) asked me to fly to Houston to visit friends. I was 19 and he 21.
Neither of us had flown before.
We got tickets to Houston and flew
On Delta Airlines on a Convair 880
Jet and returned 2 days later on an Eastern Airlines Constellation.
That flight served full meals placed on a pillow.
What an experience for two youngsters
That never flew before.
We are 75 & 77 yrs old today and still
Remember that experience.
My First Flight: Callie Boyce
My first really memorable flight experience happened two years ago. I come from a relatively small town in Northeast Arkansas where cultural travel is not considered a priority. But from a very young age, my family always supported whatever wild dreams I entertained.
This led to me, at 22 years old, taking my first solo international journey. My mom dropped me off at the Clinton National Airport in Little Rock where my long trek to Ponferrada, Spain to teach English for the summer began. I boarded a short flight to Atlanta as my anticipation grew. From there, I flew to Paris. That was when the real excitement set in. I was lucky enough to sit by an interesting couple headed to southern France to be married the next week. I was even luckier to nab a window seat. When it came time for the evening meal, I was taken aback by the yummy hot food, and I got enjoyed my first mini airplane bottle of wine. My favorite part of the flight, though, was in the early morning hours, racing toward the sunrise as land came into view. I’ll never forget the freedom and exhilaration I felt knowing I was all alone in a big world on my way to do great things in a foreign country.
From Paris, a flight to Madrid, and a five-hour bus ride to Ponferrada still remained, but for me, getting there has always been half the fun.
My First Flight: Roy Smith
My first flight was quite memorable in that it ended with a crash landing at a German airbase in Bavaria. In the summer of 1946, I was a 19-year-old “washed out” Army Air Force aviation cadet serving in the “Army of Occupation” in Germany. With the desire to fly still very present in my mind, I wandered over to “Flight Ops” one day and asked to get on a local flight. To my surprise, I was told to climb aboard one of the venerable, war-weary B-17gs parked on the flight line. This flight was to count towards an aircrew flight time accrual. Aircrew needing a minimum number of flight hours and take off/landings to qualify for that coveted 50% flight pay.
We took off and flew a circular route over Landsberg, Munich, and Augsburg, with a “touch and go” back at Lechfeld. I was seated in the Bombardier’s compartment in the nose of the aircraft, which afforded an excellent view of the proceedings. Late in the flight, on our fifteenth touch and go, the aircraft “blew” its left tire, rupturing the left landing strut hydraulics. This immediately caused the left wing to hit the ground and do an abrupt 180-degree “wing around,” coming to rest alongside the runway.
We all scrambled out and reached a safe distance from the aircraft. About 45 minutes later a flight line ambulance screeched to a halt at the crash site and inquired “Anybody hurt?” They provided transportation back to “Flight Ops” for all involved. The old B-17g was declared “Combat Non-serviceable” and retired to the scrap heap. Yes, I still vividly remember my first flight 71 years ago.