I'm A Southwest Missouri Native Who Grew Up Flying Right Seat Next To A Uncle Who Had A True Passion For Airplanes.  I Knew From Those Early Years In Life That I Wanted To Be A Pilot.

After Graduating From Neosho High School I Found My Way To Missouri Southern State College.  The Same Uncle Who Put Me In The Right Seat As His Co-Pilot Suggested That I Should Pursue Aviation In The Military.  I Took His Advice, And Enrolled In The Warrant Officer Flight Program With The US Army.  I Thought I'd Love To Fly Helicopters...But The Army Was Back-Logged With Applicants During Peace Time... So That Plan Went South.  When The Opportunity Of Flying Helicopters Went Out The Window, The Only Thing I Could Come Up With After Thinking It Through... Was To Walk In To The United States Marine Corps Recruiting Office, And Sign Up To Become A US Marine.  I Mean After All, The Uncle Who Kept Putting Me In That Right Front Seat As His Co-Pilot Was A Marine.  At The Time, I Wondered Many Of Times, What Have I Done.  But Now, Looking Back... It's One Of Those Things You That I Wouldn't Change If I Could.  It Taught Me To Never Quit. To Never Give Up.  To Try Harder.  To Work Harder.  Semper Fi.

Thanks To The Marine Corps, And A Never Quit Attitude.. I Earned All My Ratings And Possess A Pilot Certificate That I Have Dreamed Of Having Since Flying With My Uncle.  I Have Had The Pleasure Of Visiting Most States In North America.  I've Flown Regionally, Nationally, And Internationally.  I've Spent Thousands And Thousands Of Hours In The Air.  I Really Do Have A Deep Passion For Aviation.

I Maintain A Second Class Flight Physical, And International Radio Operations Permit.  I Train With SIMCOM And American AirSafety On A Regular Basis.  I Have Recently Completed My Bi-Annual Flight Review, And Instrument Proficiency Check.  On Top Of Personal Training, I Have Served As Lead Representative For The FAA SafetyTeam.  I Have Conducted Numerous Safety Related Seminars And Presentations Throughout Southwest Missouri Trying To Make A Difference In Aviation.  I Participate In The FAA Wings Program, And Have Earned Master Wing Status, Which Is Their Highest Award.

As Far As Experience, I've Flown Both Tail Wheeled Airplanes And Conventional Gear Airplanes.  Single Engine Piston, Twin Engine Piston, Twin Engine Turbo, Single Engine Turbine, Twin Engine Turbine, And Twin Engine Jet.

I Think All Pilots Find Their Sweet Spot.  Something They're Good At.  Something They're Confident With.  And For Me, If I Were To Pick What I'm Good At....I'd Go With Weather.  It's Something I Study All The Time.  It's Something That Is Never A Constant.  It's A Moving Target, And I Love The Challenge.  I've Spent Over 600 Hours In Actual Instrument Conditions, And Have 532 Actual Approaches To Date.  Just Passed 4,300 Landings.

If You've Spent As Much Time In The Air As I Have, There Will Be Issues From Time To Time.  My Hero In Aviation Tells Me It's Mr. Murphy.  He Says That Little Gremlin Just Looms In The Cockpit Just Waiting For You To Mess Up So He Can Smack You Down.  Well, He Hasn't Got Me.  I've Experienced An Engine Blowing Up In Flight Causing A Major Fuel Fire...And Landed With Passengers Without Event.  One Time, I Lost An Engine Coming Home And Flew It In On One.  I've Had Landing Gear Failures A Couple Of Times And Never A Problem.  I've Had Full Electrical Failure In Class C Airspace, Called The Tower On My Cell Phone, And Landed Without Event.  And Probably The Worst Of All, Lost A Horizon On The ILS 14 Approach One Night When It Was Level 1 And Level 2 Rain, With An Overcast Ceiling At 600 Feet.  I Guess My Point In Sharing This Is To Re-Assure You That If There's A Problem, I've More Than Likely Had It Before.  Be Confident, That You're Safe With Me.

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