The joy of flying at any age
Arash Afshari ([email protected]) shared a photo full of joy and memories after seeing the picture of five-year-old Hobie Hendricks in "Viewfinder," in the August 2014 issue of Model Aviation. He wrote:
“As a complement to that photo, I offer a similar young-at-heart man launching his slingshot glider at an indoor event held by the Black Sheep Squadron of Southern California in January 2014.
“In the photo, my friend Chuck Haverlah shows some of the same joy and determination in his expression prior to making another launch for the evening. His life since boyhood was spent as a model builder and flier, and he carried his passion to a successful career at Northrop. He did it all with the same joy that shines through in this photo.
“Sadly, Chuck left us in May 2014 for greener pastures. His common reply to a ‘How are you doing?’ greeting was always, ‘Excellent and improving.’ I imagine him now on a grassy knoll where the air is always clear and the breeze favorable. Maybe we’ll all keep on flying in that bit of paradise and we will all be ‘excellent and improving.’
“Thank you for considering the photo for publication. It is offered as a joyful celebration of life and our passion for the hobby.”
Photo details
- Camera: Canon EOS 1D X
- Focal length: 200 mm
- Aperture: f/2.8
- ISO: 8000
- Shutter speed: 1/500 second
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
