by Ann W.
Since I can remember, I have been flying in airplanes. My father,
Stephen C. Richard, owned an L18-56 Lockheed Loadstar for about 20 years. It was
built around 1942, originally for the military; then owned by a private
corporation for the former Secretary of State, George Shultz. The N96334 World
War II passenger transport aircraft is still etched in my memory. My father
never let me forget what I said as a child as we flew to Florida, “Dad, Why are the clouds down there? Are we
upside down?” To this day, I still marvel and identify with the sound of
radial engines overhead. I continue on the tradition of taking our three sons
flying so perhaps one day they will be aviators or engineers like their parents
or grandparents. My father was proud to have three of his four daughters
associated with aircraft; Stephanie Gray, who pilots the MD-80 for American
Airlines; Lisa Dudzinski, who was the first pilot of the family; and last but
not least, the one who joined the Lockheed Martin team as an engineer.
