Foil: 11 Panel: 1 Column: 1 Line: 5

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Carly Russell

David Ender is a commercial aviation enthusiast, student and collector. At the age of 7, the inspiration of flight entered his life at an ice cream stand at the end of the main runway at the County Airport at Albany, NY. By age 10, a collection that continues today began with airline newspaper ads, timetables and brochures. As a teenager, dozens of model kits had been assembled and were active on the runways of his basement airport. At age 13, sure that he would become an airline pilot, he wrote to Eastern Airlines concerning the necessary qualifications. Eastern promptly responded, but the requirements at the time included uncorrected 20/20 vision, meaning his dream job would not be possible. As the years progressed, his interest and collection focused on the decade spanning from the dawn of the jet age in the early 1960's through the introduction of wide-body jets in the early 1970's; and grew from a study of the planes themselves to include the marketing, advertising, fashion, graphics and other elements of the airline industry. After hundreds of flights, the inspiration he discovered at age 7 still remains a major influence.