Greetings!
Now, before you get all excited and start running about, I'm not referring to George Orwell's vision. Rather, I'm looking back 30 years and remembering some of the things that made 1984 a sort of comeback year for me…
For starters, I found myself unemployed and not in school for the first time in my life on New Year's Day in 1984. I had taken my leave from the Harvard of the Sky–engineering physics and I didn't get along, especially when physics had backup on the beat-down in the form of Calculus 3. Between those two courses, I had a dismal GPA for the Fall 1983 semester and decided that engineering as a career for me wasn't in the cards. I went down to the AFROTC Detachment (I had an AFROTC Scholarship at the time) and spoke a bit with my advisor. He and I talked for about an hour, and both came to the conclusion that all the summer terms in the world weren't going to suddenly make me a mathematical genius. My math skills were pretty good, but not good enough. So, I didn't register for spring semester and came home.
Funny how things can happen–I went looking for a job on 2 January 1984 and was hired almost immediately as a parts driver for a local HVAC parts house. After a week or so of that, one of their systems engineers found out that I wasn't just doing this because I didn't know any better, and I would sometimes be called in to watch how home and industrial HVAC systems are engineered–so many square feet of space called for so many tons of capacity, so many BTUs were required to heat X amount of space, etc. It was all pretty neat stuff, and I appreciated all they were doing for me. Between parts runs, I learned quite a bit–and was tempted to pursue a career in that. But aviation, once it wiggles down into your blood, tends to have a strong pull…
I worked there all summer. One day I got a phone call from one of my advisors at Embry-Riddle, wanting to know what I was doing and what my plans were. At the time, I was still trying to just chill out a bit and leave the stress and, well, disappointment of engineering behind me (and earn some coin, but that should be obvious). I let them know what I was up to, and that I had several things banging around in my head, and that I'd let them know when the time came. That time came in June–I took a Friday off work and drove back to Daytona Beach. I met with some folks, and found out how easy it would be for me to come back–I never formally withdrew from the school, so I was still carried on their rolls. I first visited my AFROTC friends. We spent a few hours speaking with some of the other Department Chairmen, and after speaking with the man heading up the Avionics program, my mind was made up. I would return in August.
With my future now decided, I went back to work. I don't say this to be self-congratulatory, but I was the hardest working parts driver/stock man/all around helper that location had. I know this because the higher-ups told me so. They were especially let down when I gave them my notice, but when I told them that my two choices were to learn–unofficially–from them, or go back to school and learn aviation electronics, I think it got them to understand. I was told that if I needed summer work, they would be there. So, I ended my employment with them in mid-August.
Remember that 1984 was an Olympic Games year, too–back when Winter and Summer games were held in the same year, no less. The Winter games were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. I paid little attention to them, because work and the time difference made keeping track of the events a bit difficult. What saddens me know is to see what has become of the venues built for the Games–most of them are crumbling, the result of the unrest, fighting, and other issues between the ethnic factions that finally led to the break-up of Yugoslavia into its constituent Republics. Sad…
The Summer games, on the other hand, were different–they were held in Los Angeles in 1984. The overshadowing news was that the Soviet Union, acting in response to the West's boycott of the 1908 Games, had decided to sit 1984 out. They, along with the majority of Eastern Bloc countries, sat at home while the Games went on. The reason I remember it so well was than coverage of most events came on right as I was getting back to the house after work, so I could pay attention to all of them. It was the last Olympic Summer games that I really paid close attention to. Since then, various reasons have kept me from watching…
On the modeling front, I actually started to keep a log of kits I completed. The first for 1984 was the ESCI 1/48 scale Fieseler Storch. It was an easy build until I got to the part about sticking the wings to the greenhouse. I used 5-minute epoxy, and got a fairly decent result–I amazed myself that I didn't wind up with epoxy all over everything!
I next turned my attention to a Tamiya 1/48 Brewster Buffalo. It was probably the quickest "serious" model I had built to that point–everything just clicked together. I was tempted by the early Navy scheme, but I settled on the Dutch scheme, because my metal finish techniques were sorely lacking and I didn't want to ruin the model. My impressions of Tamiya airplane kits would be reinforced soon…
Next on the hit parade was the Nichimo 1/48 scale Ki-43 Oscar. If you read opinions on this kit, they're all almost universally positive. And for good reason–the kit packs a lot of detail into a small airplane, the fit is superlative, and this all in a kit dating from the late 1970's. I tried some weathering techniques on this one–I used a silver Tamiya paint marker to prime seams back then, and I would paint the seams and rub the excess paint off with a paper towel. I reconed that if I added blotches of silver here and there, I could "chip" the Polly S paints I was using for the camouflage. It worked out fairly well, I think, and I kept trying to expand my horizons from that model on to the next, and the next…
This was also the summer when I attempted to build Monogram's 1/48 scale F-84F. For a reason or reasons lost to history, I cannot recall why I never finished the model. All I have from that model is the dolly and a few bits and pieces. After that, I wound up building Monogram's 1/48 scale F-100D in Arkansas ANG colors. I did that because, as I said before, my metal finishes at the time looked like dog poop…
Last for the summer, I decided to refinish a Monogram 1/48 scale B-17G that I had built in the late 1970's, maybe 1979. I had airbrushed it, but it was one of my first airbrushed models and looked the part. There were visible seams and some other issues with the model, so I took it down from the shelf and started working on the bad areas. Within a week, it was ready for paint again. I had used a Microscale sheet to finish the F-100 and was suitably impressed–first time using them, you know. So, I went in search of a sheet for the B-17. I found one I liked (unit and aircraft are again lost to history–I didn't log how they were finished, just that I finished them) and set to work. I used a combination of Polly S and Tamiya acrylics for the finish, and this one was the best, to that point, airbrushed finish I had ever laid down. The model went back on the shelf, an old girl in a new dress.
(That Tamiya Buffalo would also get a re-work in the early 1990's–which is how it still resides, hidden away in a box upstairs…)
I returned to good old Humpty Diddle in August. I had to register for classes. I had remembered to change my major and catalog at the Registrar's office when I was there in June, so half my battle had been won. Then I get to the registration lines. I think it is a universal college policy that beginning of the semester registration is meant to be as huge a pain in the ass as possible to all involved. See, during my engineering days, I had to re-take a few courses. As far as the Aeronautical Studies/Aeronautics courses were concerned, I was through with all of my math classes by virture of my Calculus I and Calculus II courses. During those engineering semesters, I had managed to complete all but maybe one or two Humanities/History courses, too. I was only looking to register for the required Physics and first semester Aero Studies courses. I couldn't get into any of the Electronics courses since all the sections were filled, so I settled for what I could get. After I got through that, I had to go play housing lottery. After about two hours of back-and-forth, I managed to get into Residence Hall 2, aka Dorm 2, aka "The Embry-Riddle Holiday Inn". I had lived here through my engineering days, so I know what to expect. I met the roommates and suitemates (two rooms to a suite, three people to a room), all of whom were Aero Science guys (they were all working towards pilot certificates)–except one. He was in engineering. He was a quiet kid, and engineering wasn't any kinder to him than it was me. I kinda felt sorry for the kid…after all, I'm now the older, wiser me…
Classes were literally a breeze. By the end of that semester, I would have all my prerequisite courses behind me and the next three and a half years would be solid electronics and avionics courses, along with the Aero Studies courses. See, there was no single avionics major, you took a major and added avionics. You could take an Aviation Maintenance major and avionics (you wound up with an Airfram and Powerplant certificate and the avionics degree) or Aeronautical Studies with avionics, which is how I went. Basically, you took all the ground school courses for flight, but no flight courses. So, I learned basic aerial navigation and meteorology to go along with my electron theory. Over the years, the school changed how they treated avionics until finally phasing it out a few years ago in favor of an Electronic Engineering degree program…
More modeling? You bet–I had spare time, so I decided to build a Tamiya 1/48 A6M2. This was another fall together kit, it was done in a week. Yep, a week. Needing something else to occupy my time, and figuring that the ESCI Storch was a cool kit, so I decided to build ESCI's 1/48 scale Hs-123. Now that one was a challenge–first serious biplane, first masked camouflage scheme with Polly S, and the kit was rife with minor warpage–typical of ESCI's kits of that era. Well, I managed to beat it into submission, and painted it up as a Spanish Civil War machine. I may still have it in a box here somewhere, too, and I was sure to pick up the AMTech "enhanced" reissue of the kit a few years ago. After all, who else is likely to do an Hs-123 in 1/48 scale?
The best part of the year? Going back to school. I never had any intention of *not* going back to school–my father wouldn't abide it. He was always pushing for education-I guess it stems from the fact that he had a GED when he started working, and worked hard in correspondence classes to earn a degree. Dad was a self made man, and he did so through hard work and trying to better himself. I was thinking about these "good old days", and once again realized what my parents did to make sure my brother and I were ready to face the cold, cruel world–the sacrifices they made to put us both through post-secondary education, the hard work they put in to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table, and lights on in the house. So, by going back to school–even though I wasn't overtly pushed–I was doing as they wanted.
On reflection, maybe I should have worked for a year after high school, then gone to college. Maybe I should have examined engineering closer and realized that it was a bit beyond my abilities. You can reach for the brass ring, and if you grab it on the first try, great. I seem to reach for the ring, get a light grip on it, and then lose that slight grasp. Rather than giving up, I'll take a breather and try again. I usually grab that sucker for all I'm worth on the second go around, and once I have it in my grasp I never let go–I seem to cherish it more when I do that. It has worked for me my entire life…
Oh, yeah. The Apple Macintosh also goes on sale in 1984, Constatin Chernenko succeeds Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Pierre Trudeau steps down as the Canadian Prime Minister, and Marvin Gaye's father shoots and kills the singer.
Musically, Van Halen released their "1984" album, giving us "Panama", "Hot For Teacher", "I'll Wait", and "Jump". Duran Duran were touring, suppoting "Seven and the Ragged Tiger", which gave us "The Reflex", "Union of the Snake", and "New Moon on Monday". Meanwhile, Prince and the Revolution topped the Billboard Top 100 with "When Doves Cry". What was #100? "Yah Mo Be There", by James Ingram and Michael McDonald…
(I can't poke too much fun–my beloved Jethro Tull released "Under Wraps". Not one of their best albums ever. By far. Even Tull's then-bassist Dave Pegg said the songs cut from 1983's "Broadsword and the Beast" would have made a better album. Trivia time–it was the only Tull album with no live drummer–drum machines were used instead. Doane Perry would be hired shortly after this album and was their full-time drummer until 2011. He still occasionally tours with them.)
The big news items in the United States for 1984, though, were generated by President Ronald Reagan. In August, during a sound check for a radio broadcast, he says "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes". He alos is re-elected (with George H. W. Bush as his Vice President) in a landslide victory in November, beating Democrats Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, carrying 49 states and 59% of the popular vote.
Oh, and as an aside: When you get an ROTC scholarship, you are basically sworn in as enlisted personnel. Because I vacated my AFROTC scholarship, a Review Board convened. It was decided that I wasn't vacating the scholarship for any reason other than it would be a waste of money to have me keep banging my head against a wall as an egineering student. For my troubles, I received a package from the United States Air Force sometime in April. Now, some fellow scholarship recipients were receiving orders to attend basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas. I was slightly concerend until I opened the envelope. I was granted an Honorable Discharge from the United States Air Force. As an Airman Basic. No orders. One of my roommates at the time wasn't as lucky–his orders appeared a week after he got home in December, 1983. He showed the Air Force, though–he went down and joined the Army before the Air Force caught up with him. Many who knew this guy swore he joined the army only so he could get a good, up close look at an M1 Abrams tank so he could build a superdetailed model of one…
I hope this finds all of you in good health. Thanks for reading, and be good to one another. I bid you Peace.