When you were a kid and the world was your theoretical oyster? We're not necessarily talking about early childhood, but perhaps your first big aim - and did you make it?
I'll start - no, I didn't make it :(
But as a child of the 80's and a teenager of the late 90's - early 00's, I grew up with that opening sequence from Top Gun burned into my brain and I seriously an dgenuinely wanted to be a naval aviator.
As I got older, I took a seriously look at this until it turned out I was seemingly incapable of studying hard enough.. turns out Tom Cruise and his oily friends failed to point out that actual pilots have to be not only well educated but constant target acheivers (I am neither) to even make it to training, training which drops recruits like 2016 drops celebrities.
Of course, I also had to come to terms with the fact that as a Briton even if I had been successful by some miracle, i'd get nowhere near those sweet F-14's and huge, well stocked aircraft carriers.. but would instead be consigned to Harriers operated from the Invincible class carriers that were coming to the end of their life cycle. The bitterest pill is that Invincible class vessels had no sweet steam catapult, instead a ski jump.. which is way less cool.
Though I won't knock the Harrier.. exemplarary British engineering that thing.. possibly the last truly great thing we came up with.
I'll start - no, I didn't make it :(
But as a child of the 80's and a teenager of the late 90's - early 00's, I grew up with that opening sequence from Top Gun burned into my brain and I seriously an dgenuinely wanted to be a naval aviator.
As I got older, I took a seriously look at this until it turned out I was seemingly incapable of studying hard enough.. turns out Tom Cruise and his oily friends failed to point out that actual pilots have to be not only well educated but constant target acheivers (I am neither) to even make it to training, training which drops recruits like 2016 drops celebrities.
Of course, I also had to come to terms with the fact that as a Briton even if I had been successful by some miracle, i'd get nowhere near those sweet F-14's and huge, well stocked aircraft carriers.. but would instead be consigned to Harriers operated from the Invincible class carriers that were coming to the end of their life cycle. The bitterest pill is that Invincible class vessels had no sweet steam catapult, instead a ski jump.. which is way less cool.
Though I won't knock the Harrier.. exemplarary British engineering that thing.. possibly the last truly great thing we came up with.
