Hey Pat,

I've never been adicted to any drugs, but I visit Airliners.net 2-3 times a day. It's the only way to keep up with the expanding photos. I think I'm adicted, but I love it. I used to hang around SFO a lot but since 9/11 you can't even take a picture of an airplane without worrying about ending up in Gitmo.

What an amazing article. I found myself so much in your writing, the only difference being I'm no pilot (but would have become one if I had more talent in spacial orientation).

When I was a kid we lived near the Duesseldorf airport (DUS) in Germany and I could tell where the wind blew by the sound of the aircraft which were starting and high in the sky with wind coming from the west and were low and soft at approach on winds from the east.

When I was 10 years I asked my parents if a friend an i were allowed to take a bike ride to the airport which was 20KM away and we had to cross the large city of Dusseldorf. Of course this request was denied. Of course we didn't give a sh...

My deepest experience of longing was at that age when I stood on the visitor's ramp on a sunny Sunday afternoon while a Lufthansa B737 boarded to Paris. A boy at my age boarded the aircraft with his mother and I wished I was him.

My first flight was when I was 18. At that time I was a trained singer of a choir specialized in baroque music. We had a 3 week's tour through Finland. The LH B737 lifted up extremely steep but whas very noisy. The Finnair DC9-50 was much more comfortable and soft and the bummer was when another plane crossed our path in the sunny distance like a rocket. Leaving the aircraft in Helsinki brought the first time of my life the experience of distinct smell: Helsinki smelled of conifers. Later I discovered that many regions have their distinct smell, Madrid f.i. of the south combined with litter.

During the Finland tour we had a Finnair Holiday ticket to move to the concert locations, which allowed us to fly as much as we wanted during 14 days. We had one day off, so I went to the counter in Helsinki Vanta and booked as many starts and landings as possible on this day. It was on this trip that I fell in love with the Super Caravelle, the smoothest, friendliest and softest aircraft at least in my recollection. I had the pleasure to fly again this type with French Air Inter when I was a student.

And then there is Airliners.net and, yes, the pictures of Sam Chui.

When Lufthansa celebrated their 50th anniversary they created a website where passengers could tell stories. Of course I couldn't resist to tell the story of friends inviting every year the same people for a birthday party, a Lufthansa pilot being among them, so I would always sit next to him and ask him all kind of questions.

Those who talk German may find pleasure reading the story at

http://50.lufthansa.com/php/geschichten_detail.php?lang=en&id=364

One day I will translate it into English. Meanwhile some of you might find pleasure in poking around the stories sent in by passengers.

As a semi-closeted A.E., I am all too familiar with The dangerous distraction. If it wasn't for airliners.net, I am sure I would have finished my PhD dissertation at least six months before I did!

Nice article, Patrick.

Thanks again Patrick for your inimate look at this strange and wonderful underworld!

There's an obscure British film that covers the world of 'Planespotting' dramatically.

Recommended: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446763/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2002_18_mon_04.shtml

Best,

Jas

in Vancouver

Not too long ago, I had the opportunity to tour one of NASA's 747s that are used to ferry the Space Shuttle from the West to the East coast. I expected to see huge amounts of interior supports and crossbeams that would take up the stress of having 80 tons of dead weight strapped to the top of the plane in flight. To my surprise, there were none. According to one of the crew, the only modification was a slight strengthening of the fuselage where the attach mounts connect. Amazing! It probably takes a true airliner geek to be so impressed by the capabilities of such a robust and flexible machine.

Patrick -

I echo the other letter writers in thanking you both for this column and for your continued work for Salon. I find your columns always interesting (even read the link for the Ghana flight along with this one). I just wanted to add a few comments.

On "Enthusiasm": At the beginning of my career, I worked for a team of freight railroad veterans because I could help with the computer modeling they were doing. So think young guy just out of college teamed with these older, sometimes "grizzled" veterans of the US major freight carriers (a significantly more "macho" industry than flying airliners in many respects - due in my mind to the safety history of that industry and greater age). One aspect of their life was the difference between "rail enthusiasts" and "FRNs" ("Fxxxing Rail Nuts"). As an outsider, I was sometime amused by this discussion, seeing as one of the senior team members had an extensive side career taking photos of steam engines and trains in the US and various parts of the world (still have his book). But he was considered an "enthusiast" and not a "nut".

Somehow, as insiders they sometimes saw themselves above those that were observers. But I agree with your apparent position - it is great to have people with the interest participate, whether they are people that actually worked for an industry or just like learning about it. Not many of us are going to have the opportunity to indulge our interests the way John Travolta has done, or gain access to the cockpit of a regional Ghanian airliner like you did. But your column reflects both your interest and your desire to share your AE views with a wider world. I am happy I live in a time where this is possible.

And this brings me to comment #2. The Airliners.net site is an example of just how much I love the Internet. Those photos (not just the unbelievable ones) of different places and times are a treasure and source of enjoyment for contributors and browsers alike. I may not frequent the site as often as a true AE, but like many of the who-knows-how-many websites dedicated to enthusiast's pursuits, I am comforted in knowing it has come about - not the "Web 2.0" many are thinking about, but the kind of place a browser like me just loves to find.

I spent my childhood summers often watching long lines of airliners on approach to JFK out in Queens NY; when the wind was from the right direction, I could see them over my house - and since at that time JFK was the east coast entry point for the US, many of the planes had the markings of airlines from far away places. When the wind was from a different direction, I could sometimes hear the big jets warming up on the tarmac at night. I still use a sleeping mask from Pan Am my late uncle gave me from a 1st class flight to London from NYC years ago. I would not consider myself an "AE", but I do appreciate the place airliners (and trains for that matter) have in our collective imagination.

It can sometimes be very hard to see a reason for "enthusiasm" when standing in the security line with your shoes off. Your column helps to reminds me that air travel and the industry behind it is still very much a wonder, and deserves to be seen as such.