I was 11 in 1977, and a place in the Wisconsin Dells was giving rides on a Bell 47. I begged my parents to let me ride, and after about a month of me begging, they finally gave in. I WAS HOOKED! I’ve been a helicopter/ airplane mechanic now for 37 years and don’t regret a day of it.


– Kevin Egan


I was 14 and on a family camping trip to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where my dad took us on a helicopter tour. Flying at what seemed like the speed of sound, we came to Mount Rushmore at eye level. A rock formation seemed to engulf the bubble, and the pilot climbed skyward to clear it. I broke into a beaming smile faster than the tips of the rotor blades could spin! Afterward, I knew I would someday fly one of these amazing machines.


– Chris Horton


In 1963, when I received my first helicopter ride in a Bell 47 at 6 years old. (Thanks, Dad!)


– Anonymous


I was 12 years old, in my dad’s car, going to school. I saw an AS350 descending to land in our village. Ever since, I’ve wanted to know where every helicopter is going.


– Nick Dening


When I was about 5. An ag operator stayed at our farm for three days while he was spraying power-line herbicide. My mom claims I sat in a lawn chair in our front yard watching from dawn to dusk for the entire three days.


– David Conboy


I went for a ride in the Pocono Mountains in a Bell 47G when I was 8 years old. I was the pilot’s last flight of the day, and we flew for 45 minutes. I was hooked. I took a Chinook pilot to school for show- and-tell a few years later.


– Pamela Landis


I went on a ride with Mike Pond at Royal Gorge Helicopter Tours in 2004. I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.


– Robert Schaper


I fell in love with helicopters when I first met the Sikorsky Black Hawk in South Korea. And I love other helicopters too. I’ll take any chance to be on board, sit in the copilot seat, and fly with a rotorhead.


– HyunJu Woo SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE ROTOR167


ISTOCK / RUTH BLACK


STOCK.ADOB.COM/ ROBERT/THEODOR NEGRU


HAI/JOHN FORD


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