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| Welcome to The Web Page of Carolyn Willis! |
| Here's a photo of me, taken in 2004. You won't find me in many photos, as I am usually the one BEHIND the camera! Take a look through the following pages for photos i have taken of my family |
I LOVE aircraft and flying, which might have come from the fact that both of my parents worked for airlines
when I was born, and while my mom was pregnant with me, she used to taxi commercial aircraft into hangars
for the night. I like to tell people I've been flying before I was born! My dad worked for Northwest Airlines in
Great Falls, Montana. When I was 10 years old, he'd put me on the morning flight from Great Falls to
Minneapolis, and give me a roll of dimes. I'd spend a few hours in the Minneapolis terminal (which I knew like
the back of my hand) playing the pinball machines, and I'd catch the afternoon flight home in time to go home
with my dad from work. Occasionally I'd talk him into sending me to Seattle for the day and I'd do the same
thing. That was back in the 1960s when things were much safer. Now I'd be afraid to send my kids flying
anywhere by themselves, let alone having them spend the day alone in a big airport terminal! Through growing
up in airports, I learned to love flying and love planes in general. We live fairly near the airport, so get to hear
the cool planes as they fly over for takeoff or landing. But, I wish we lived closer, as they don't usually pass
directly overhead.
One highlight of the trip my husband and I took to Seattle several years ago was seeing an SR-71 aircraft at
the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. If you ever get to Seattle, you HAVE to go see that Museum, it is
AWESOME! Also, visit the Boeing Assembly plants, and watch the big jets actually being built!
Another really GREAT place to go for the aircraft buff is the restoration facility in Everett at the airport. There
you can see old aircraft in various stages of disassembly and re-assembly. The let you walk around under the
aircraft, through the parts laying on the floor and on benches, and really take an "up close and personal" tour.
There is no admittance fee, they only ask for your donations to keep the facility running with an all-volunteer
staff. Most of the restored aircraft are then sent to the Smithsonian. On July 27, 2003, I read the following
about a plane we had seen being restored at the facility: "The Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized
luxury commercial transport, today took off from Boeing Field in Seattle for its permanent home at the
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in Washington, D.C., it will be
enshrined in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum
located at Dulles International Airport.
The restoration began in June 1994 by a team of volunteers and Boeing employees, who fabricated parts,
reinstalled interiors and completely restored the airplane to like-new condition. Nearly seven years later the
restoration was complete, and the airplane rolled out in 2001 to begin testing and certification. The effort
experienced a setback in June 2002 when the pilots had to ditch the airplane into Elliott Bay in Seattle during a
test flight.
The volunteers and employees went back to work to repair what they had restored. This second effort took a
year to complete."
when I was born, and while my mom was pregnant with me, she used to taxi commercial aircraft into hangars
for the night. I like to tell people I've been flying before I was born! My dad worked for Northwest Airlines in
Great Falls, Montana. When I was 10 years old, he'd put me on the morning flight from Great Falls to
Minneapolis, and give me a roll of dimes. I'd spend a few hours in the Minneapolis terminal (which I knew like
the back of my hand) playing the pinball machines, and I'd catch the afternoon flight home in time to go home
with my dad from work. Occasionally I'd talk him into sending me to Seattle for the day and I'd do the same
thing. That was back in the 1960s when things were much safer. Now I'd be afraid to send my kids flying
anywhere by themselves, let alone having them spend the day alone in a big airport terminal! Through growing
up in airports, I learned to love flying and love planes in general. We live fairly near the airport, so get to hear
the cool planes as they fly over for takeoff or landing. But, I wish we lived closer, as they don't usually pass
directly overhead.
One highlight of the trip my husband and I took to Seattle several years ago was seeing an SR-71 aircraft at
the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. If you ever get to Seattle, you HAVE to go see that Museum, it is
AWESOME! Also, visit the Boeing Assembly plants, and watch the big jets actually being built!
Another really GREAT place to go for the aircraft buff is the restoration facility in Everett at the airport. There
you can see old aircraft in various stages of disassembly and re-assembly. The let you walk around under the
aircraft, through the parts laying on the floor and on benches, and really take an "up close and personal" tour.
There is no admittance fee, they only ask for your donations to keep the facility running with an all-volunteer
staff. Most of the restored aircraft are then sent to the Smithsonian. On July 27, 2003, I read the following
about a plane we had seen being restored at the facility: "The Boeing 307 Stratoliner, the first pressurized
luxury commercial transport, today took off from Boeing Field in Seattle for its permanent home at the
Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in Washington, D.C., it will be
enshrined in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum
located at Dulles International Airport.
The restoration began in June 1994 by a team of volunteers and Boeing employees, who fabricated parts,
reinstalled interiors and completely restored the airplane to like-new condition. Nearly seven years later the
restoration was complete, and the airplane rolled out in 2001 to begin testing and certification. The effort
experienced a setback in June 2002 when the pilots had to ditch the airplane into Elliott Bay in Seattle during a
test flight.
The volunteers and employees went back to work to repair what they had restored. This second effort took a
year to complete."
| Steve and I at dinner in Seal Beach, California, October 2008. |
| Steve looks off the Seal Beach pier |
| Steve standing by the Veteran's Memorial on the Seal Beach pier |
