I love helicopters. My fascination with them probably started when I
was about eight years old and got a Lego set for Christmas. One of the
designs in the book of examples was for a helicopter, which I built, but
was dissatisfied with. So, I added missile launchers, rocket boosters,
a swivel-mount for the tail rotor, a cargo winch, extra lights, and all
sorts of other gizmos. Ever since then, I've been reading and dreaming
about some day being a helicopter pilot. I've taken a couple of flights
in helicopters, including one in which I was allowed to take the controls
for about fifteen minutes.
Pictures of me with helicopters:
- August of 1985 in San Francisco (I'm on
the left with the camera case and hat) with my brother, moments before
I took to the air on my first helicopter ride.
- January of 1990 at DuPage County Airport.
That's me peering through the bubble of the chopper.
- January of 1990 at DuPage County Airport.
Same helicopter as above - this time from the side.
- January of 1990 at DuPage County Airport.
Here I'm attempting a landing with the tail rotor completely
mismatching the conditions, inducing a spin on the ice. This
happened a little too close to the hangar for my tastes.
- Summer 1990 in Orlando at the national
Evangelical Free youth conference. I found this chopper on practice
maneuvers near the hotel and talked shop with the pilot for a while.
This page is maintained by
Jeffrey S. Curtis (curtis@anl.gov)
Last updated 6/23/96
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