Grew up near the ATL airport and was surrounded by men who flew in WWII. Mentors before anyone came up with the idea of mentors.

ATL at that time also had its own version of corrosion corner and a freight ramp. It was awesome. No fences and no one stopping you. Different time but more often than not the only restriction was "Kid.. don't flip any of the switches" and I could climb in and out of just about anything on the field. We had a couple of outfits retrofitting Mustangs and Corsairs for second careers. I could sit in the cockpit of a refurbished P-51 or F4U.

You could get up close and in airplanes then.