We live at an exciting moment on Spaceship Earth when the trajectories of technology and passion have crossed to make possible a place like Why Fly.
It will be a place not only on a computer, but in our hearts where those of us who have been transformed by the idea of Flight can meet and share what so inspires us, consumes us, elevates our spirits, and how we individually express this in our daily lives.
I think of Why Fly as an open hangar at a country airport on a sunny Saturday morning where pilots of all kinds drop by, look at airplanes, and talk for a while.
For even though what they fly may vary from Tiger Moths to Dreamliners, why they fly is the same: the incomparable experience of being in the sky, moving freely, and seeing the world as few others do.
Those whose dream of flight may not have taken form, yet, are just as welcome with the hope that their passage from thought to reality is near.
I have had the privilege of knowing most of the founders of Why Fly for many years, and am honored to be a part of this project. It is in good hands.
I look forward to both contributing to and learning from this very special place.
See you at the airport.
About the Author
Russell Munson’s commercial photography and writing has appeared in publications such as Time, Fortune, Money, Smithsonian Air & Space, and Flying magazines (where he is a Consulting Editor); and in books by Time-Life, Bantam, Ridge Press, Howell Press, Bantam, Dell, Scribner, Putnam, and Macmillan.
Russell wrote the complete text and photography for his book Skyward: Why Flyers Fly. He also photographed, wrote, narrated, and produced the best-selling DVD Flying Route 66. In addition to his advertising work, Russell’s fine art and aerial landscape photographs are in the collections of private collectors, museums, and corporations throughout the world.
He is probably best known for the extraordinary images he provided to his friend Richard Bach for their best-selling 1970’s phenomenon Jonathan Livingston Seagull (which had already sold 30 million copies by 1990!).
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Thanks for a nice synopsis of why we fly. Brings back memories of my last BFR in a J-3 Cub. We left the urban hustle and bustle flying NW to a grass runway for a day of touch and goes. After a morning of awakening my taildragger skills we took a break for lunch. Eating our sandwiches in the shadow of the Cub’s wing I felt transported back to the days of my youth when I would ride my bicycle out to the local grass airport. It was nothing more than a large field allowing takeoffs and landings in any direction depending on the wind. There were Cubs, Ercoupes, and a big scary Stearman there. My dad had taken flying lessons under the GI Bill after the war and I was hooked. We awoke from our time travel and continued the afternoon by flying home against a strong headwind. Life is like that. Flying against a strong headwind but we should take time to remember and enjoy the present and the past.