If you’re of similar vintage as myself, you’ll remember a television program called “Reading Rainbow”.

Well there’s one episode that has forever stayed with me. It will be of no surprise that the topic is airplanes. It originally aired March 24, 1990 – when I would have been just about six. Life’s been quite crazy lately, and when I found this a couple weeks ago it was a lot of fun to go back and see again.

It starts with a crazy tale of two kids who build a working airplane by tearing apart all sorts of things around the house, fly it around, get caught, and put everything back together by dinnertime.

My how many homebuilders wish it could be that easy.

Then there’s a historical look through flying, a look at the airlines, and then at 14:51 begins a flight lesson for the host – LeVar Burton.

There are things in that episode that I always remembered – steering with your feet, not your hands. Testing fuel for water.

But there were things I never remembered – like the fact the plane used was a Cherokee (Cherokee Six to be exact, I’m not sure why such a big plane was used.)

If you remember it too (or even don’t) – check it out sometime.