✈️ Sky High Confessional #9: How I fell in love with aviation

If you've been following me for a while and wondering why I suddenly started talking about planes lol, well the truth is it's a part of myself I'm so excited to share - and it's kinda been a long time coming … But if I think of when my obsession with planes started, the truth is, it’s hard to pinpoint. I grew up nowhere near an airport. I’d never even been on a plane as a kid. The closest thing I had was an overnight bus trip to Sydney when I was about 10, and honestly, that already felt like a wild adventure.

But I did have one connection to aviation: the Melways street directory. I was obsessed with maps as a kid. I’d spend hours “driving” my finger through every corner of Melbourne, exploring freeways, shopping centres, weird intersections: anything that looked interesting. And the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport map? That was the crown jewel. The shape of the runways, the arrivals and departures loop, the whole layout… it fascinated me. I’d go back to that page over and over like I was visiting the airport virtually.

We rarely went there in real life, maybe once every few years to drop off a relative, but every time we did, I was spellbound.

Then, when I was 15, everything changed.

I saved up from my part-time job and bought myself an airline ticket to visit my big sister in Sydney. Like a literal paper ticket you had to collect in person. I remember catching a bus an hour into town just to buy it… then going back again a few weeks later when it was ready. That whole ritual honestly felt like magic.

And when I finally stepped onto a plane?
I was done. Hooked. Gone.

The airport alone blew my mind. The hot meal on a tiny 90-minute flight felt like luxury. Being surrounded by what I saw as the “jet set,” hearing the whine of the engines spool up, feeling the takeoff roll, that flight wasn’t just the highlight of the trip… it became the highlight of my entire year.

The next turning point came when I was 20 and left Australia for the first time.

Being London and seeing all these exotic European and American carriers I’d only ever read about… watching widebodies slide across the apron like it was nothing… it opened up a whole world I didn’t know I needed. I flew as many national airlines I could just to experience the differences: the accents, the uniforms, the service rituals and cabin design. That’s when the love turned into an obsession.

And honestly? It hasn’t left me since.

If you’re an aviation fan, when did your obsession start?
DM me: I’d genuinely love to know. ✈️💙