Designer Times by Bob Gurr
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69. Bob's Own Projects and Hobbies

Svenski writes:

Actually all the historic project work and my own personal interests are all one big blended experience. The childhood turn-ons led to Disneyland, then what I learned on those projects continued right on home with even more fun stuff to pursue.

My earliest memories, dating back to (18) months of age, seemed to be drawn to mechanical things. Like the terrifying coiled pipe water heater in my grandmother's basement, or the frightening sight of a the exposed crankshaft on a paint pump used to paint her house. And the jingle bell mechanism on the Good Humor Ice Cream truck was a favorite. I was told later in life that my first words were "airplane" while pointing to the sky at every passing plane. This surely must have been a disappointment to both parents whose names I applied later.

By age five, I was fascinated by almost everything I think, so my parents bought me a ten-volume set of books, "Our Wonder World - A library of Knowledge" published in 1930. I still have and cherish those books which went far to explain almost everything in the whole World. The photographs were fabulous, but I'd better learn to read quick if I was going to get all the details explained. Anything I saw around me could be looked up and explained.

More than that, historic far off projects like the Panama Canal were explained, the sinking of the Titanic showed that things were not always perfect. But mechanical details of how things are made fascinated me the most. No toy ever escaped my curiosity...they were soon taken apart to learn their inner secrets. I guess my parents figured I'd need an Erector Set for Christmas 1936 so I could build something from scratch rather than tear everything apart. Thus were planted the seeds of how to figure things out.

This would be the cornerstone of just what Walt Disney would need 18 years into the future when he would start his latest Dream Project, Disneyland.

So, early on, the hot interests were cars and airplanes. Cars were everywhere, but airplanes were able to be seen up close only at airports.

Fortunately, we lived a block or two from Glendale's Grand Central Air Terminal, sort of the LAX of Los Angeles 1936. For the next 4 years I would sneak under the fence and climb into the cockpit of the latest airliner, like the American Airlines new Douglas DC-3. Of course I was always soon discovered and tossed out by the mechanics. But I would hang around the Terminal learning all about aircraft.

I was there when Howard Hughes returned from his historic Flight Around the World, I was there to see Wrong Way Corrigan return. At an air show there, my jaw dropped when the show featured several gliders doing aerobatics.

That's what I want to do when I grow up! In an irony, my beloved old Grand Central later became an Industrial Park occupied by Disney's WED Enterprises. The very control tower building that entranced me as a child later became my design office location in my final year with Disney before retiring and moving on to other projects.

Model airplane building became the big thing from 1940 thru to the late 1950s, while working on car repairs became natural. After helping my stepfather do a clutch job on our 1937 LaFayette, I found it natural to do clutch jobs as well as any auto maintenance. I loved auto shop in high school where I restored our family Model A Ford, including a body change and a total engine overhaul.

All the school shop classes were my passion. Wood and metal shop taught me a lot about how to find the easiest way to build something. Skills that would make designing Disneyland Attractions so much simpler. Educated engineers don't know nuthin' till they build or fix their own motorcycle became a natural mantra. I'm fortunate to have gotten my real education doing the stuff I love.

My grandmother knew how to get rid of little Robert for the day, and make him happy too...drop him off at any airshow for the day, them come back for him at dusk. At such a show at Whiteman Airpark in Pacoima California, I waited all day to borrow the additional $2 needed to buy a glider ride. But when Grandma arrived late, the glider operation had shut down. A guy who had watched my anguish was about to go up for a sunset flight in his two place Luscombe 8a..."get in kid, keep your money, let's go". Wowwee! My first airplane ride...and the neat guy let me fly it after takeoff. No training...it was totally natural to fly. I joined the local Civil Air Patrol after that in order to get really close to airplanes, and get a lot of rides. Another irony...I've had my German Taifun Motorglider hangered for years at this same airport almost at the exact same spot of that first flight!