How did you get into WWI Aviation history?

[Maureen Dig Aire]

What hooked you into studying this? When and how?

For me, it was the flick "Flyboys." I still think it's entertaining to watch. Of course, it's loaded with historical inaccuracies. But, when I first watched it, I became fascinated with that those guys were flying in open-cockpit "paper airplanes" and shooting at each other! Also, the fact that I am a born-skeptic, prompted me to look into the reality of what I watched in that movie. Well, long-story-short, I was hooked! The more I read about The Great War, the more I wanted to learn. Can't say for sure why I became most interested in French Great War Aviation History. Probably because the French came to dominate the aeroplane industry. When the Wrights visited France, the French seemed to find kindred spirits in them.

Soooo....how did you all find your way into Great War Aviation Fascination?????

[tcrean7828]

Originally Posted by Maureen Dig Aire

What hooked you into studying this? When and how?

For me, it was the flick "Flyboys." I still think it's entertaining to watch. Of course, it's loaded with historical inaccuracies. But, when I first watched it, I became fascinated with that those guys were flying in open-cockpit "paper airplanes" and shooting at each other! Also, the fact that I am a born-skeptic, prompted me to look into the reality of what I watched in that movie. Well, long-story-short, I was hooked! The more I read about The Great War, the more I wanted to learn. Can't say for sure why I became most interested in French Great War Aviation History. Probably because the French came to dominate the aeroplane industry. When the Wrights visited France, the French seemed to find kindred spirits in them.

Soooo....how did you all find your way into Great War Aviation Fascination?????

Lass,
Dawn Patrol and The Blue Max movies. Also my grandad was in the Great War (the third battle of Ypres). I believe also in the area were Werner Voss and Kurt Wolff were shot down.

tom

tom

[Tim West]

It was Atari's sit down arcade version of the Red Baron for me. My mom bowled on a league when it came out and on league night, I got to have pizza and arcade night. Win win in my mind Lol I put a lot of quarters in that machine. Then I saw the Blue Max on vhs ...from one of those new things called a video rental place.

Then after years of doin other junk, I picked up Dynamix's Red Baron on floppy. And you could even custom paint your planes...kinda It was way cool.

So I guess video games and pizza for me. Oh and the vhs tape.

It was only later I got more into the real stories about WWI aero stuff. There's much more than just the planes to discover. And that's what I like. Getting a bit of info and seeing where it goes. It's kinda fun.

Oh... and when I was seven or eight I had a view master set of Snoopy vs The Red Baron too. It was my fav

[JohnReid]

I was born into aviation 70 years ago ! Been in it all my life in one form or another from ramp rat to flying instructor .I guess my dad ,a fighter pilot himself, passed his love of aviation history on to me.

[FliegerJG1]

It was Snoopy's pursuit of the Red Baron that introduced me to WWI aviation. Peter Kilduff's books kept me interested and here I am today.

FliegerJG1

[VtwinVince]

My uncle was a pilot in Bombengeschwader 7 in the first war, then a Gruppenkommandeur on 109's in the second, so his career always fascinated me.

[sobrien]

My dad was a naval aviator and grew up on the aviation mags of the 20's and 30's. I in turn got to read, savor, and build models from those same mags that he saved all those years. The Blue Max movie really sealed the deal.

Sean

[Barry Hickson]

Watching Errol Flynn & David Niven in "Dawn Patrol" when I was nearly a teen. Then reading Billy Bishop's Winged Warfare & Rene Fonk's Ace of Aces followed by all the Biggles books. Then got serious & brought heaps of the old Profile Publications @ 35 cents each & it got out of control.
Now buy heaps of books, all the Osprey offerings, DVDs & the Wings of War game!

[ONEALM]

....but it's easy enough to say how I stayed interested.

Frank Bailey (who we just lost last December) put me to work for him when I was 17 "helping" with his French unit histories. A generous soul if there ever was one.

Trading snail mail (it was back in the late 70's ya know - before the World Wide Inner Tube ) with Greg Vanwgarden, Jon Guttman, Jack Eder, Steve St. Martin, Peter Grosz and Peter Kilduff among others, subscribing to the old Cross and Cockade Journal and finally meeting an unknown and unremembered SPAD pilot from the 213th Aero Squadron.

Philip Kissam was kind enough to allow me into his home when I was 18 and he was 83 to swap flying stories (I was just about to take my private pilot test in 1978...) and tell me his stories of training in Italy and France in 1917 and 1918. He gave me his original wings for good luck and I carried them with me during my private pilot test - and passed.

Between Bill Bailey and Phil Kissam, how could you NOT be interested....

[Gregvan]

I still have Mike's snail mail letters to me from the late '70's, complete with his wonderful little ballpoint pen sketches of airplanes.

I plan to sell these lost treasures from a famous aviation artist on ebay someday and retire on my earnings.

Greg