Scan of 1961 kids' book: Gordon's Jet Flight
Mr. Bali Hai linked to this scan of a 1961 Little Golden Book called Gordon's Jet Flight.
LinkGordon's Jet Flight, a children's book from 1961, took me back to a golden age of plane travel, when passengers in coach got to eat steak, kids were allowed to visit the pilots in their cockpit, and Homeland Security didn't give my teddy bear a cavity search.
I don't miss having to wear a blazer and tie though.
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Books like this used to make me horribly jealous as a kid. I didn't fly on a jet until I was out of college and able to pay for it myself.
I've been flying a lot lately; visiting family back east, and a business trip.
Somewhere in there, I got to see a kid "Gordon's" age turn green and vomit after the plane had landed and parked, as he was walking towards the exit.
Jetway sickness. Don't let it happen to you!
I remember in the early 70s, as a toddler, having my nicest clothes (a suit and clip-on tie) as my "airplane suit"; I don't recall ever wearing it for anything else. That dress code must have been pretty serious, for a special outfit to be piled on top of the already way-out-of-our-price-range transatlantic flights.
Also, cockpit visits ROCKED.
But also, flights were smoky like they were curing bacon.
When I was a kid flying on a plane about '89 or so, the flight attendants picked me and the girl sitting next to me (both unaccompanied minors) to go visit the cockpit, see the weather radar, etc. She even got to do a few rounds as a flight attendant, but I was too chicken back then to do something like that. I Did get to see The Big Steal, very cool Australian movie (shot on location in Melbourne), but afterwards none of my relatives would believe that I got to see a movie because of the relatively short flight (Sydney to Perth). Short movie though, really enjoyed it.
When I flew to Australia about seven years ago, Qantas would let you come up to the cockpit, so I did. Somehow, I'll guess they don't do that anymore. Thanks, terrorist scum.
Wait, do they not let kids toddle up to the cockpit to meet the pilots any more? I used to do that all the time when I was wee.
This reminds me of a book at my folks' house that my mom got from her uncle.
It's a WWII-era book, printed for kids living on the homefront.
Little Otto's First Air-raid.
Surprisingly jingoistic, but cute, all at once.
If I had scanner, I'd probably flickr it.
Great cover! Have a look at this shot of the crew of a KLM prop airliner from 1954 - Fly Mickey Mouse Airlines - and Die
In roughly 1966, a very similar magazine made a huge impression on me and led to a lifetime of SciFi reading. It's name, "You will go to the Moon." it had a fresh-faced (freckled) American kid flying to a moon base with his Senior Nasa Officer Dad and watching the World series on the way.
I was luckly enough to travel international with my family starting in the late 1970s.
On a trip to London from the East coast, I will never forget the captain asking me early in the morning if I wanted to watch the sun come up. Plane was a 747. He took me to the cockpit and let me sit in the sheepskin covered seat (co-pilot, I dunno). It was probably the neatest kid experience I ever had. After a few mins the stewardess took me back to my folks.
Those were also the glory days of planes far from full.
When as a kid through pre-teen I could always find three empty seats in a row to stretch out in say from flying cross country or to/from Europe.
Now I am 'all grown up' with two small children and flying is just one big royal pain in the %ss.
I miss the bloody blazer and tie! I think that a waistcoat and hard-collar are in order, too.
Call yourself "Steampunk", will you? Not in those trainers, my good sir!
FWIW, on a recent Virgin America flight, the pilots invited people up to see the cockpit during our hour-long delay at the gate :)
On my childhood visit to the cockpit, the captain actually allowed me to fly the plane, kind of. He told me to adjust this dial for the autopilot thingy, which made the plane bank a bit.
Cockpit visits are not entirely dead. I was lucky enough to score one this spring on my way back from a conference. It was really, really cool. You just could not get the smile off my face without plastic freakin' surgery for the next couple days afterwards.
uh, am i the only one who sees the huge, white phallus on that cover? did i wake up in 6th grade again this morning?
Like this wonderful Golden Book from 1959 entitled "You Will Go to the Moon" written by the excellent science writers Mae and Ira Freeman. My son was mesmerized by this book when he was 4 and asked me to read it again and again and again and again. Here's a photo of the cover:
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