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I've always loved airplanes and flight. The space program was really important to me as a kid. I still have a photo of Armstrong and Aldrin on the moon in my living room.

I loved flying as much as I thought I would and continue to fly aircraft.

The sensation of flying is incredible, and it's such a miraculous notion to go into the air and see the world without delineation.

Flying, for some reason, has never been my favorite thing, but after taking some aviation classes and reading about it and learning about it... They've been doing this for over a hundred years, they've been to the moon and back; they kind of have a good system going here.

During my 8 years as chairman, I had the privilege to peer into the future to see dynamic citizen astronauts returning to and from the heavens which we can expect in the future.

My grandmother flew only once in her life, and that was the day she and her new husband ascended into the skies of Victorian London in the wicker basket of a hot-air balloon. They were soon to emigrate to Canada, and the aerial ride was meant to be a last view of their beloved England.

Anyone who has spent any time in space will love it for the rest of their lives. I achieved my childhood dream of the sky.

It's a pity I flew only once. A space flight is like a drug - once you experience it, you can't think of anything else.

I've had a chance to fly a lot of different airplanes, but it was nothing like the shuttle ride.

Then there was the challenge to keep doing better and better, to fly the best test flight that anybody had ever flown. That led to my being recognized as one of the more experienced test pilots, and that led to the astronaut business.