The Joy of Flight

Visiting the Smithsonian Museum’s Wright Brothers exhibit I realized they were not only master craftsmen, but also scientists doing some of the earliest experiments into how to get a heavier-than-air device to fly. Twenty years ago on KUOW’s The Conversation, we celebrated the centennial of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, December 17th, 1903 by swapping memorable flight stories. Jason Paur did a live report from Kitty Hawk, where the centennial was rained out; a paraglider pilot called in; Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach reflected on the joy of flight; Graham Kerr - The Galloping Gourmet explains how hard it is to make good airplane food; a Somalian immigrant recalls his memorable first flight on a packed 747; the spectacular arrival path to Washington D.C. over the monuments; Larry, a Boeing 777 pilot, reflects on flying; a pilot who flew the Berlin airlift during the Cold War.