HDPS - Aviation
  • Ground & Flight Instruction
  • Mountain Flying
  • Avionics Technology
My first flight experience was in July of 1969 at the same time Apollo 11 was on it's mission to the moon. It was a flight my uncle Mike arranged when my family visited Alaska. I was a passenger in a Cessna 206 with a STOL kit flying out of Anchorage, Alaska to the fishing lodge on Lake Chelatna. I loved every minute of that trip and have been enthralled with flying ever since.

It took me a while before I was actually piloting a plane myself, but the wait and the journey were well worth it. I got to fly with some friends in high school out of a small airport near Kent, Washington. Flew on some commercial flights during my college years. I took some private flying lessons out of the airport in Des Moines, Iowa. Then I got serious and applied to the U.S. Navy for Aviation Officer Candidate School. During the application process I got a demonstration ride in a T-34B and experienced my first aerobatics. I was hooked and shortly after that I was accepted into the Navy's pilot program where I learned to fly in the T-34C Turbo-Mentor, learned to land on an aircraft carrier in the T-2C Buckeye, and became instrument certified in the TA-4J Skyhawk.

After flying in the Navy, I did some additional training in the civilian world to get my FAA private, instrument, commercial, multi-engine, flight instructor, and instrument flight instructor certificates and ratings. Then I became an instructor teaching other future pilots. I continued my own training learning to fly additional aircraft, honing my instrument flying skills, and taking specialized courses for mountain flying.

I've continuously been a student of aviation. I believe no amount of time flying aircraft can provide you with every potential experience. So, constant studying, reviewing and training are what I do to gain knowledge where my experience may lack. It's interesting, it's challenging, and it's fun!

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