Owning and piloting a variety of aircraft has enriched the life
of this actor-aviator
JOHN TRAVOLTA
Raised in Englewood, N.J., I could not avoid aviation. Aircraft
flew over our house all the time on their way to LaGuardia Airport.
Looking at these aircraft and their freedom of movement made me
want to fly. My father knew this, so he would take me every other
Sunday to one of the airports in the area to watch takeoffs and
landings. Plus, with my family in show business, there were many
trips to the airports to watch them either leave or arrive.
This fascination with airplanes led me to start studying for a
pilot's license when I was 15, and I started taking flight lessons
when I was 16. I soloed at 19, received my pilot's license at 23
and my jet license at 26. Because I had to earn the money for my
flying lessons, it took me longer than it would have
otherwise.
I owned my first aircraft before I owned a car. I had accumulated
$2,500 and realized that I was probably not going to get a good car
for that amount. I did have a motorcycle, so I bought an Aircoupe,
which I flew for several years. The Aircoupe was followed by a
Douglas DC-3 and then a Rockwell Commander 114, in which I
accumulated 150 hr.
Along the way, I have also owned and flown a Cessna 414, Cessna
Citation 1SP and 2SP, a Lockheed Jetstar 2, a Lockheed
Constellation and a Hawker Siddeley 125-1A. I bought a Lear 24
because people said it was difficult to fly. I really liked the
Lear 24, which I kept for 10 years, because as long as you were
focused, kept within the envelope and minded your reference speeds,
it was a great aircraft to fly. I took the Lear into a lot of
airports many times near minimums, without difficulty.
I am qualified as a first officer in the Boeing 707 and 747 and as
a captain in the Gulfstream II, Hawker 125-1A, Citation 1SP, Lear
24, Vampire fighter and the Canadian Tudor trainer. I recently
donated a Tudor, in great shape, to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University.
At present, I have a Gulfstream II and a Boeing 707. My plan is to
keep what I have and not acquire anything new. The 707 is a former
Qantas aircraft, and this has led me to become a spokesperson for
the airline. After spending time with them, it did not take me long
to discover why they have not had any fatalities in their more than
83-year history.
During the piston engine aircraft era, Australia was a long
distance in time from the U.S. and Europe, so they had to develop
their engineering, maintenance, training and operations themselves.
They figured out that if you kept the Lockheed Constellations at
12,000 ft. or lower, except to get over the Swiss Alps, you would
not run the engine turbochargers and would lessen engine removals
and failures. They also looked closely at the Lockheed Electra and
realized it had a whirl mode in the wing before Lockheed itself
realized the problem.
The Qantas airline crews I have flown with, and I am sure this
applies to all their crews, operate as a tight, well-coordinated
team. Qantas adopted the coordinated crew concept before it became
fashionable. Their training requirements are exact and some of the
best I have experienced. The instructors love to teach, and they do
not make you feel as if you were dumb not to get a principle or a
procedure the first time.
This association with Qantas has just been another part of my
aviation life. I have found that flying has brought an excitement
into my life I would not have experienced otherwise. Flying has
given me a fuller life, the ability to trust my knowledge and
explore new frontiers with confidence.
This year I am participating in some special events commemorating
the 100 Years of Flight. I believe the combination of being an
actor and a pilot is helping me reach generations of people and
perhaps motivate younger people to take up flying or study math and
science.
It surprised me, at first, that I could have this impact to
motivate younger people to look at aviation. This fact was brought
home to me when I was the master of ceremonies at the kickoff for
the 100 Years of Flight celebration at the Smithsonian's National
Air and Space Museum. I would hope some of these younger people
develop the same love of aviation as I have. It will take this sort
of dedication to develop the advanced technology for transports,
airports and air traffic control that is needed to grow the air
transportation system of the future. Air transportation is the
heartbeat of the planet and cannot be ignored.
