Avish Zindal Week 13 - "Permission to buzz the tower?"
One of my favorite memories as a child is one that I credit as the beginning of my huge passion for aviation and just planes in general. I don’t remember if it was at the age of 3 or at the age of 4, but I distinctly remember the first image that stuck to my mind. I had just gotten out of the car, and towering in front of me was this behemoth of a ship: the USS Hornet. Originally a post-WWII carrier that was used for a variety of purposes, including the recovery of astronauts after Apollo 11 and 12, before it was decommissioned and turned into a museum.
I walked towards the entrance, and off to one side was this massive anchor, almost double my height when I was standing straight, even when it was lying on its side. It was almost like a miniature playground structure to climb in and around, which I did. Attached to the anchor was a huge chain with links even bigger than my head. I saw my dad lift one a few inches, so of course I tried to do the same, to no avail. Just pushing it was impossible, even when I put my whole body weight (however that was) to just get it to move a little bit. An employee later told us that the anchor weighed over 30000 pounds and that each link in the chain weighed over 100 pounds.
Eventually, I finished admiring everything from the outside and we headed to the main entrance. Even the walkway to the ship seemed so grand, with a ~30 foot bridge allowing us to cross high up over the water and into the ship (I was also terrified of heights at the time). Once inside, I was amazed by all the aircraft inside, from the giant Seahorse helicopter near the entrance to the beautiful Corsair fighter further down. After I had explored everything in the hangar, we went up to the flight deck. There, we saw even more planes, including what is now one of my favorite jets ever: the F-14 Tomcat. I wandered about, went up to the F-14 and marveled at the surprising size of it, and even looked inside the engine exhaust tube.
After the flight deck, we took a guided tour up to the bridge, where we learned about all the ship’s upper-level operations and how the captain would run the ship. Seeing everything from 200 feet above the deck was a truly awesome (and scary for little me) experience, and I especially remember the steep stairs that were basically ladders with steps instead of rungs. To complement the bridge tour, we then took a tour of the ship below deck, including the quarters, different amenities, and the engine room. Once we finished, I was completely in love with the carrier, and especially military aviation. Over time, this expanded to a broader love for all aviation, which is now an integral part of who I am.
Hello Avish, it’s so cool that your passion for aviation began at such a young age! It is amazing that you are able to remember so much about your visit to the USS Hornet Museum despite it being so long ago, proving how impactful that experience was for you. Your detailed descriptions of the aircraft and massive anchor paint a vivid picture and make it easy to understand why you would fall in love with aviation. It is ironic that you were afraid of heights before you went to the aviation museum but still developed a passion for flying and military aviation. I especially liked the title of your blog this week, and reference to the famous line from Top Gun. I have not had much exposure to aviation but I learned a lot about planes and aviation through your writing. I enjoyed reading your blog this week and hope to read more of your work in the future!
ReplyDeleteHey Avish! It was so interesting to read about your personal experience, especially regarding a topic I don't much mind to most of the time. Your writing style allowed me to delve into your mind a little in that way, and feel what you must have felt has you looked on to that huge ship. It sort of reminded me the power of these seemingly irrelevant stories that we have in our lives and how they shape the way that we see things. I believe the first time I grew interested about aviation was as I was reading a graphic novel about Kalpana Chowla, and her own experience within it. I also found it interesting that the ship was your opening, since the depth of your writing was about your love of aviation, a point I found especially ironic. But upon reflection, I think that it helped better develop the story you were able to tell and appreciate how descriptive you were throughout; it allowed for me to immerse myself in the writing. I enjoyed this piece, and I look forward to reading more from you!
ReplyDeleteHi Avish! First I would like to complement the vividness of this blog. If you were to ask me to describe yesterday in detail, I probably would not be able to go as in depth as you did in this blog of a memory some 12-13 years ago. I suppose the detail in which you went into stands as a testament to how impactful that visit was to you, such as the exact models and the layout of the whole museum. I’m always happy to see true passion for a topic, and it is something that is deserving of congratulations.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very rich in detail, and that is something that I appreciate, and it shows the amount of effort you put into it. Furthermore, I liked how you put the entire visit at the museum in a chronological order separated by paragraphs, making the entire story very clear and coherent. If I could suggest one little thing that could enhance this blog, it would be to add another visual to complement the fantastic text that you have written. I enjoyed reading this blog and looking forward to reading your next one!