About Me . . .

Growing up in Washington, DC, I was interested in Erector Sets, and Lionel trains (OH gauge), and then electronics.  I became a ham radio operator at age 12 (WA3CZZ and now Amateur Extra K1PK) and won a soldering iron at a hamfest for being the youngest ham there in 1965. I built a Heathkit Color TV for my godfather and watched the first moonwalk on it 10 days after receiving the kit.

I think I had my first plane ride, it may have been a DC-3, in about 1962, from NJ to DC, but that memory is very vague. Then my godfather worked for the FAA and became a pilot, and took me on a few flights in a Cherokee 140 in 1965 or so.

A few dollars after college (as a result of working for Digital Equipment Corp), I started flying because I'd always wanted to.  And I've been flying since 1976, accumulating over 3200 hours and many different FAA ratings. I've been as far as Barrow, AK. And I've also flown quite a few different aircraft.

Why I like to Fly

But if you ask me why I fly, the only direct answers don't make sense to the brain. All I can say is that when I'm up in the air, the world is a different place. It makes more sense up there away from the confusion and hate on the ground.

If you press me further, I can offer you only a collage of things that are more felt than seen.  I feel truely blessed to be a member of the aviation fraternity. You just have to experience it for yourself.

Some of my favorite things about flying (apologies to Julie Andrews :-):

• The absolute total magic of my first instructional flight.

• The unbridled excitement of my first solo. Nobody ever forgets their first solo.

• The trust of the friends bold enough to be my first passengers.

• The comradery of old hands willing to share their knowledge and experiences.

• Seeing clouds in three dimensions, exploding in vibrant red from the setting sun

• Skimming the silvery moon-lit carpet of a cloud at night

• A thin band of snow, miles wide, descending like a veil across the ground

• The glaciers of Alaska

• Circular rainbows projected on clouds

• Punching into my own shadow on clouds

• Mosaics of broken ice flows in harbors

• Breaking out of the fog a few hundred feet above a runway

• Pockets of fog in valleys of the countryside in early morning

• The dull glow of city lights through a low cloud deck

• The Swiss cheese pattern of the North Slope lakes in Alaska

• Brilliant white and red lines of car lights stretching to forever.

• Car tail lights flashing with the brilliance of diamonds in the sun

• The silver-rope wingtip vortex of a jet on landing

• Propellers squeezing fog out of the air

• St. Elmo's fire dancing on the windshield

• Experiencing a fraternity of trust when airports loan me cars and pilots let us camp on the front lawn of their house.

• The privilege of facilitating pilots' growth as an instructor.

• The transcendance of politics.

• The pure white carpet of the ground just after a snowstorm.

John Macgee's poem really sums it up for me (hot link).

My Experience . . .

Commercial endeavors (helicopter and fixed wing):
    Photography
    Scenic rides
    Flight instruction

Ratings:
Airline Transport Pilot (multi-engine land)
Commercial:
    Airplane single-engine land
    Airplane single-engine seaplane (floats and hull)
    Helicopter
    Glider

Flight Instructor in:
    Airplane multi-engine
    Airplane single-engine
    Helicopter
    Glider

I've flown for
-AirLifeLine (volunteer med-evac organization)
-Civil Air Patrol (search and rescue, and check pilot)
-Lighthawk (environmental advocacy)
-Flying Doctors (volunteer medical services in Mexico)

I've done numerous photography missions for the Civil Air Patrol,
Lighthawk, and various commercial ventures.

My long flights of note are:
Boston to Alaska and back
Boston to California and back
Boston to the Grand Canyon and back
Boston to the Bahamas and back