Travolta's Love Of Flying

54-Year-Old Actor/Pilot Says Acting Career Made Aviation Pursuits Possible

(AP)  Pilot and actor John Travolta said Friday that he loves flying planes as much as making movies.

The 54-year-old spoke to reporters at the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture, an annual aviation convention.

Travolta, who was 15 when he took his first flying lessons, said he earned his full pilot's license in 1978 and over the last 34 years has owned 17 different aircraft. He now owns a Boeing 707, Eclipse 500 and Gulf Stream II.

Travolta has been in numerous movies and was an Oscar nominee for "Saturday Night Fever" and "Pulp Fiction." He said he wouldn't have been able to do as much in aviation if it weren't for his film career.

"Aviation has always bailed me out of anything in my mind that is blue," Travolta said. "I can look through an airline schedule and brochure and cheer up."

Travolta flew his Boeing to the convention. His Eclipse was also there.

He lives on a fly-in community in Florida, where he parks his three planes at his home.

"That's how crazy I am about it. If I can look out the bedroom and see the planes, I am happy," he said. "I rest easy."

Travolta was promoting Eclipse Aviation, which was showing off fuel-efficient planes at the convention. Travolta is friends with founder Vern Raburn.

Harrison Ford also made an appearance Wednesday introducing his movie, "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" at the convention's outdoor theater. Later Friday, Travolta was to introduce his movie "Broken Arrow," in which he portrays a U.S. Air Force pilot.

Travolta said he and celebrities like Ford promote aviation because fewer people are interested now than when he was a child. He said people can be inspired in many ways: by an air show, trip, book or a person.

"Maybe if John Travolta or Harrison Ford is interested in this, maybe it's something for me," Travolta said. "That's really the bigger purpose is to get the young people interested in aviation again and the aerospace industry."

He described those two as the "fabric of this planet."

"We can't do without it," he said.

He quit twice before finding an instructor who inspired him.

"When I quit the third time, he cried. I said, 'Wow he must care. I don't want to make him cry.' So the next day I soloed for his benefit, and of course it was ultimately for my benefit."

Travolta starred in the film version of "Hairspray" last year and has a voice part in the animated "Bolt," which is due out later this year, according to IMDb.com, an Internet movie database.

[cos4retards]

What kind of M.O.R.O.N needs 10 years of lessons before he gets his pilot''s license?

[annd2302]

Good for John, a lot of jealous people in the world. I wish he had six planes.

[cdfoxtrot1]

This closeted poofter is also a dyed-in-the-wool member of the CULT of $cientology - he believes in aliens and that a simple lie-detector machine can help you acheive inner peace.

Posted by FlangeSqueal

I don''t know about the closet part, but believing in aliens is probably more rational and science-based than holding 99.9% of most religious beliefs. You don''t ridicule Christians and Jews, do you?

[cdfoxtrot1]

What kind of M.O.R.O.N needs 10 years of lessons before he gets his pilot''''s license?

Posted by COS4retards

No-one said he was a genius! Just a lucky SOB who happened to make loads of money that allows him his extravagant lifestyle. Luck bas_tard.

[cos4retards]

"Luck bas_tard" - cdfoxtrot

I agree with both assessments of Mr. Revolting.

[cos4retards]

"believing in aliens is probably more rational and science-based than holding 99.9% of most religious beliefs" - cdfoxtrot1

You''re probably correct. After all, there are MANY planets out there, and there probably ARE other life forms somewhere. But Johnny Revolting doesn''t just believe in aliens. He paid TOP DOLLAR to learn Scientology''s big secrets and he fully believes that:

Xenu, according to Scientology founder and fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, was the dictator of the "Galactic Confederacy" 75 million years ago. To reduce overpopulation, Xenu brought billions of his people to Earth in spacecraft that looked like DC-8s, stacked them around volcanoes and killed them with hydrogen bombs. Scientology says that their spirits ("thetans") remain, and that they are causing people spiritual harm by invading their bodies. Members of the Church of Scientology pay endlessly to try to rid themselves of these "thetans" with the help of their little lie-detector machines. Those that succeed, like Tom Cruise and Johnny Revolting, supposedly have all kinds of super powers.

BTW, I forgot to mention that Ellron described, by name, SPECIFIC volcanoes in his little yarn-- volcanoes THAT WEREN''T YET FORMED 75 million years ago!

[cos4retards]

Oh, just one more bit of trivia:

In a letter to his wife Mary Sue written at the time Ellron came up with the Xenu story, Ellron said that, in order to assist his research, he was drinking alcohol and taking stimulants and depressants ("I''m drinking lots of rum and popping pinks and greys"). His assistant at the time, Virginia Downsborough, said that he "was existing almost totally on a diet of drugs."

[tksk53]

I FLY A CHARTER PLANE ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR PRIVATE PARTIES
And beleive me it is a fun job and I get to meet all kinds of important and famous people. Best job anybody could have.
(and the perks are very good too)
I also live in an airplane friendly community in California

[barbaraf4]

L. Ron Hubbard was a paid-by-the-word science fiction writer. He is quoted as saying that you won''t get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich beyond your wildest dreams, you need to invent a religion.