Trains, travel, and airplanes.
When you’re a little kid, adults are always asking you what you want to be when you grow up. For the longest time, my answer was “an artist.” What kind of art? No clue. Didn’t matter. I wanted to make art. Full stop.
Somewhere along the way, my focus shifted to flying airplanes and by the time I was 15, I had decided that I wanted to be a pilot. Not a commercial airline pilot. Might as well be driving a bus. No, I wanted to fly mail to nowhere in Alaska.
As a high school freshman, before I had my learners permit for driving, I started taking flying lessons three times per week after school at DXR (Danbury Municipal in CT). I did my first solo flight at 16 (you have to be at least 16 to solo), and got my license at 17 (also the youngest you can do it).
I had picked out a college where I could double major in Aviation Flight and Aviation Maintenance and got accepted right away. The goal was to graduate with all my flight ratings plus an A&P Mechanic’s License.
And then the industry tanked. The same housing boom that had given my dad’s demolition business a few really good years to fund my initial training led to the popped bubble that disrupted the industry I was trying to enter. My intended college warned me that I was about to take a huge financial risk, and I decided flight school was a “no-go.”
So now I make art.
I do still fly when I can justify setting some money on fire. When I can’t (I usually can’t), I enjoy traveling by train. I especially appreciate the architecture and design of train stations and platforms. I’m a sucker for steam engines and antique railroad buildings and train cars.
Recently, I have gotten into aerial photography as a Part 107 certified commercial drone pilot. My drone work can be found in my recent work portfolio, but you won’t find it on this page. This page is dedicated to planes, trains, and the buildings we use to access them.
Trains, travel, and airplanes.
When you’re a little kid, adults are always asking you what you want to be when you grow up. For the longest time, my answer was “an artist.” What kind of art? No clue. Didn’t matter. I wanted to make art. Full stop.
Somewhere along the way, my focus shifted to flying airplanes and by the time I was 15, I had decided that I wanted to be a pilot. Not a commercial airline pilot. Might as well be driving a bus. No, I wanted to fly mail to nowhere in Alaska.
As a high school freshman, before I had my learners permit for driving, I started taking flying lessons three times per week after school at DXR (Danbury Municipal in CT). I did my first solo flight at 16 (you have to be at least 16 to solo), and got my license at 17 (also the youngest you can do it).
I had picked out a college where I could double major in Aviation Flight and Aviation Maintenance and got accepted right away. The goal was to graduate with all my flight ratings plus an A&P Mechanic’s License.
And then the industry tanked. The same housing boom that had given my dad’s demolition business a few really good years to fund my initial training led to the popped bubble that disrupted the industry I was trying to enter. My intended college warned me that I was about to take a huge financial risk, and I decided flight school was a “no-go.”
So now I make art.
I do still fly when I can justify setting some money on fire. When I can’t (I usually can’t), I enjoy traveling by train. I especially appreciate the architecture and design of train stations and platforms. I’m a sucker for steam engines and antique railroad buildings and train cars.
Recently, I have gotten into aerial photography as a Part 107 certified commercial drone pilot. My drone work can be found in my recent work portfolio, but you won’t find it on this page. This page is dedicated to planes, trains, and the buildings we use to access them.
