“People who design machines and airplanes {or buildings}, no matter how much they believe that what they do is good, the winds of time eventually turn them into tools of industrial civilization. They’re cursed dreams. Animation, too. Beautiful yet cursed dreams.”
― Hayao Miyazaki
I think planes we're more about the aesthetics for him, the whole ' if it looks sexy it'll fly' thing
Well that and nostalgia, his dad was an aeronautic engineer