Bob Brodwater became interested in airplanes at a pretty early age--about 6 years old, according to his mother.

"But, it wasn't until the third grade that I first thought of a career as an airline pilot," he says. "A classmate had just completed a small model of a Delta jet and brought it to school. I started reading various flying magazines and just got hooked."

Brodwater is currently employed as a pilot with Continental Airlines, based in New York. With the company for 18 years, he is now captain of a Boeing B-737 airliner. He also has flown the DC-10, B727, and MD-80 aircraft.

"Since working for Continental I have flown over much of the world and have been very fortunate to have visited most of the major cities in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Orient," he says. "I'm now flying mostly within the continental United States but also fly frequently to the islands of the Caribbean and to Mexico and Canada."

Brodwater's job with Continental involves working about 12 to 15 days a month, with the specific days changing every month as pilots bid on their preferred schedules and destinations. He has parlayed the "down time" into an opportunity for even more aviation-related work--he has his own business as a subcontractor working for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a designated pilot examiner.

"My duties include the testing and licensing of civilian pilots in this country after they have received all their training," he says. "I enjoy this work, as I can set and schedule my own appointments around my airline schedule. This position allows me to be as busy as I want or take any particular time off. As you can imagine, I get to spend a lot of time in the air!

"Most pilots learn to fly small airplanes first and then gradually progress to the larger and faster aircraft," he explains.

"Airline pilot positions require several thousand of hours of flying time and very specific flight experience requirements. These are very competitive positions, as there are few openings for the number of applicants."

At Continental, he is regularly retrained on the various aircraft he has flown and must pass a complete physical exam twice a year.

Has his attitude toward flying changed since the Sept. 11 attacks. Brodwater doesn't dismiss the added risk, but it's not something he spends time worrying about.

"Since Sept. 11, I'm sure we all feel a little more insecure regardless of our chosen fields," he says. "But I, for one, am more determined to continue flying and provide my passengers with a safe and relatively efficient mode of travel for the future. I still enjoy my work and the extensive travel it provides me. I can honestly say that I would have to rate it as my favorite hobby as well!"

But, it's not his only hobby. In addition to pleasure flying, he says he also enjoys golf, scuba diving, skiing and sailing. Although the mandatory retirement age for all airline pilots is 60, it doesn't appear as though Brodwater is going to be bored after that.

"My family travels together as much as we can," he says, "and we all enjoy our ski trips, dive adventures, or just plain relaxing vacations."

In addition to his wife, Pat, the family includes Bobby Jr., a UD freshman, as well as 15-year-old Kathleen and 14-year-old Tim.

Are there any future pilots in the family? According to Brodwater, "Bobby has expressed an interest in flying but is not committing himself right now."

That's okay with his father. He knows that not everyone can know what they want to do with the rest of their lives by the age of 6.

--Diane Kukich