Eric Mueller’s vacation started when his plane filled with smoke. Soon, people slid down an emergency chute, inflated life vests and climbed into a raft.

Mueller loved every minute of it.

Most days he runs a book review website. But on this day he was living out a fantasy at American Airlines’ flight attendant academy, practicing evacuation procedures most people hope to never use.

“I look at the safety card. It’s not supposed to be a comic book of things you want to try, but it all just looks cool,” said Mueller, 40, of Los Angeles.

There are people who grew up wanting to be Mickey Mantle. They go to Yankees fantasy camp. Others dream of playing Carnegie Hall. They join the summer orchestra at the shore. Then there are aviation geeks like Mueller. People like him – and there are more than you think – charter a commercial airliner and hop across the country visiting the Meccas of the aviation world.

The most recent journey had 160 people paying up to $1,699 for a seat and access to spots normally off limits: Boeing’s sprawling 737 factory, American’s mission control-like operations center and the cockpit of the world’s largest passenger jet.

Tickets sold out in 17 minutes.

“This is sort of the ultimate airplane nerd event,” Mueller said.

Most people board a plane to escape to a tropical beach, see the Eiffel Tower or visit their family. For this group, the journey isn’t just half the fun. It’s the whole point.

They can differentiate between Boeing and Airbus jets just by looking at their tails. They know that on even-numbered flights, meals are served first from the front left of the cabin, while on odd-numbered flights, it’s the back right.

“Usually in your life, you’re the only one who knows this stuff,” said Gabriel Leigh, 28, a filmmaker and writer from Hong Kong.

The camaraderie was part of the trip’s appeal. Sure, it was really cool to walk inside the first 747 ever built. But it was also fun to gulp down gin and tonics midair with other guys – three out of four passengers were male – who have the same passion for flying. How much fun? Well, American stocked the plane with four times the liquor of a normal flight.

As with every good vacation, there was a chance to get souvenirs.

There was a stop at the Boeing store in Seattle – yes, there’s really a Boeing gift shop. The group rushed in and stocked up on yellow 787 ties, aviator teddy bears, Boeing Christmas ornaments, garment belts fashioned out of airplane seatbelts and T-shirts saying: “If it’s not Boeing, I’m not going.”

But the real mementos were the photos. Most tourists snap shots in front of the pyramids, Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal.

Once onboard, like kids set free on a playground, the passengers climbed into the cockpit, spread out in plush first-class beds and crawled into the hidden bunk beds where crews nap during long trans-Pacific flights. Moments later, photos were on Facebook.

But what else would you expect from folks who, during a tour of an elite check-in area, were excited to play airline ticket agent?