>> Whew! I bet you're hell on wheels at the local air shows. :-)
>> The most I can do is go "look at the pretty plane".
My long time, now ex boyfriend but forever best friend Maurizio
goes to airshows and chats up the pilots-and they invite him to
fly! Except-he has never been in the cockpit of a realplane! He
knows so much technical stuff-and of aeroplanes most don't even
think about-things like Marchettis, Savoias and stuff...it's
hilarious to watch him-because he's so serious-and has such an
Italian accent. Even more amazing still to hear him talk about all
the tech stuff and engines when you know that 1.) He didn't learn
English until he was in his thirties and 2.) the man doesn't know
to check the oil in the car or even check the air in the tires!
We go to all the air shows we can-the vendors know us. (Or used
to, before he moved away this past winter.) People always say,
"Oh, you must have loved the El Toro air show!" Actually, not at
all because like you mention-they go to (get drunk and) look at
all the pretty planes.
Unlike myself, Maurizio really does know all this stuff off the
top of his head. At least I learned (through him and WWII spotter
cards) the difference between Spitfires, Typhoons, Hurricanes,
Tempests and that a Hudson is called an A-29 in the U.S. And P-38,
39, 40-etc...
Unfortunately-he took all the big (expensive) reference books with
him! (I wish I had a wife &/or a girlfriend who'd give me stuff
like that for presents!)
Laura G.
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