flying geeks

is it a coincidence that tech geeks jeremy zawodny, phillip greenspun, and mark fletcher all fly airplanes/gliders? doesn’t the time it takes to learn to fly take away from their alpha geekiness? i imagine there must be other techies who also fly for fun. in fact i’m surprised joel doesn’t have an essay about learning to fly in nyc.

when i was younger, one of my dad’s co-workers at ibm took us out flying gliders (apparently Schweizer SGS 2-33s). then on my following birthday my parents purchased a flying lesson for me at the local county airport. there’s a video of that somewhere that i’d like to see because i can barely remember the experience itself. in the meantime, here are some photos i’ve scanned in from my first and only glider experience.

Justin in cockpit of an orange Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider
hamming it up in the cockpit—i was about 11 or 12
Justin in cockpit of an orange Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider
getting ready to go up
View of the New York State Thruway from a Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider
we’re up, and i believe that’s the new york state thruway
Justin and his dad, Brian, in front of a glider
afterwards, a shot of me and dad

10 Comments

Brian

Your pilot was Cornelia Yoder, who I worked with at IBM, is a multi-talented person and was a record holding glider pilot. Nuttin’ but the best for you. Oh yeah, one other thing, gosh were cute back then.

jackie

Cutest pictures EVAR

Cool! A ride in a 2-33. Classic glider…

jeremy, you rock! thanks for identifying the glider.

and dad, thanks for refreshing my memory.

Okay…usually, I’m really negative about these sorts of jaunts down memory lane, but I’m feeling nostalgic about missing Justin and look how cute this is….

hehe…tooo cool!

I’m also a geek pilot! I think there is something in our genes that make aviation appealing!

Cornelia

Hi Justin! Yep, that’s me in the back seat :) I’m delighted to find that you remember the flight and still enjoy the thought! Maybe you should hunt out another gliderport and do it again :)

Cheers,
Cornelia Yoder

Cornelia, I do remember it, though the pictures have definitely helped maintain the memory. Thanks so much for taking me up back then. My current eccentric mode of transportation is more of the two wheeled variety, but being a bit geeky myself, I wouldn’t rule out wings at some point in the future.

Brian/Dad

Hi Cornelia, I hope things are going well for you. I am still working for IBM – now down in Austin, TX. I still remember you making a critical personal decision and you flipped a coin which meant you would do it, and you couldn’t argue yourself out of it – so you went ahead and did it. I still use that technique myself. Best wishes to you.

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