I had a paper route along the red line delivering from 30 to 130 papers depending on season. One summer the top house on the right paid for me to go to summer camp for 2 weeks, made my mom a leather key chain, that she uses to this day. across the street was a house that an old lady owned, which is no longer there (Black dot) now its a storage lot. I used to park my bicycle up against her fence and hop up on top and watch the planes land and take off for hours. Some times my mom would spend hours looking for me near our house about 300 feet off the bottom of the map below the red line. She would end up going to my paper route and finding me at the end up on the fence staring at the airport. she would tell me to go home in a frustrated, but i was never punished. Later she would just call the old lady and ask if i was there and she would tell me it was time to go home. I got in trouble for so many things, but i never got in trouble for being out after dark sitting up on a fence watching planes school or no school, strange. 30 years later, its my only interest i have kept since childhood, infact its my only interest period. If this is not the correct forum, please feel free to move it or delete it as needed. Airport is KFUL map is from google.
I use to hang around there from 78 till 80. I lived in Placentia. I moved in 80. In 83 I got my licence out of HHR and use to fly to FUL all the time. Wonder if the restaurant is still there?
The name of the restaurant is Tuffles and is still there. Growing up in Long Beach my brother and I could not get enough of watching the planes at KFUL, KLGB, LAX and Meadowlark (which is no longer there).
I lived on brookhurst and commonwealth, and my bedroom window faced due north. When i got in trouble i had to stay in my room and i would open my curtains and lie in bed facing out the window i could watch the big jets flying east to west into LAX, so out of boredom i would write down the times. then when i took a geometry class i learned that if i measured how far it was from my eye to a tree across the street and the angle, i cound try ti figure out how high the plane was and how far away it was. My parents could not get me to do any homework unless i was threatened to go to bed early or do home work. so on a saturday afternoon when i asked to use my dads tape measure my parents were puzzled why i wanted it. they watched me measure my front yard and then across the street then over to the tree at Hunt Wesson tomato property. then i climbed up it and measured its height. Came back home and drew it up on paper and calculated that the playes were about 12 miles away and at about 12000 feet. i failed the geometry class but when my parents called the airport and explaned what i was doing, they informed my mom that at my location looking due north the playes would be within 1 mile of my calculations and 1000 feet. about 2 weeks into the summer break a ATC employee invited me to spend a day with him i said yes all without telling my parents, who actually requested that i be able to intern for a day.
when my sophmore year started at sunny hills high school, i signed up for every math class i could even using my electives to retake the geometry class i had failed.
MeekRN, that is an amazing story! Thank you for sharing it.
Mine isn’t as interesting as yours.
My grandfather was a pilot and he would tell me stories about flying. I would hang on his every word. Not living next to an airport I instead created my own. Taking every model airplane I could possibly find, building them and then hang them from the ceiling in my bedroom. Strange for a girl, at that time, but they just fascinated me.
Later, when I was able to ride my bike or as time went on, drive a car, I would be at the airports. Watching every take off and landing. I even had the opportunity to be on board an aircraft carrier. Walking out there, knowing that each plane that took off and landed successfully was the direct result of team work and fantastic piloting skills. What an experience!
My grandfather had a big influence on me too. Mine was an alcoholic and he did a high school speach at lunch time that we all had to listen to him. he told us all that he wasnt allowed to be around his grandkids (me) because his wife and daughter (my mom) didnt trust him because of alcohol, and he started crying. i didnt even realize it was my grandfather until after the speach we all walked up to say think you, mostly because i only saw him once a year around christmas and i was in the back of the auditorium.
To this day i dont drink.
I use this site to find info on flights, and i use this other site to look at all aviation maps.
flightaware.com/
skyvector.com/
and 2 other favorite links
free-online-private-pilot-gr … index.html
navfltsm.addr.com/index.htm
Thanks for letting us know about this site. This will help increase my knowledge of piloting. One of these days - right after I win the lottery or the government stops taxing the hell out of me - I’ll be able to afford the actual flying portion of the PPL.
everything was going good till i saw a green bay packers clock above your stove…
Funny, my paper route went by Medowlark. My little league field was under the downwind leg too. 1967,68.
Frank Holbert
160knots.com
I picked up my collage age niece in Camarillo CA and flew her to Prescott AZ today. Sent link to mom and dad in Camarillo and boyfriend in Prescott so they could keep track of us.
flightaware.com/live/flight/N4201B
Frank Holbert
160knots.com
~
And for those who would like to see the exact flight in the future, here’s the permanent link for the CMA-PRC flight: flightaware.com/live/flight/N420 … /KCMA/KPRC