In 2002 I purchased a 1999 Piper
Archer III. The in flight photo was
at 9,000 feet above the Smoky
Mountains and then safe inside
Lakeshore Aviation's hangar in
Manitowoc, WI
2004 my company
sponsored Mr.
Hoover for
enshrinement into
the Tennessee
Aviation Hall of Fame
2004 Flight over the
Hudson River in New
York City at 1200 feet
My first Airplane
Grumman AA-1A
from 1985 - 2003
Flying with the
Aeroshell Aerobatic
Team. This was their
first practice of the
2005 season and it
was their full routine!
1998 Flight in Don Goetz's
Lancair IVP. This was only the
2nd one flying and at the
time, was the fastest
homebuilt aircraft
As President of EAA Chapter 17
in 1994 and 1995, a meeting
with Paul Poberezny at the
Reno Air Races in 1994 secured
his Key Note Speaker Address
for the chapter's banquet.
1983 - Soloed at the
Anoka County
Airport in Minnesota
Being a Green Bay Packer fan since
early on, it was a special occasion for
me to fly over Lambeau Field in 2006
Some pretty powerful
vehicles on the ramp
in Knoxville, TN
My friend Mike Hance
was the Chief Pilot for
Budweiser's Bud One
Airship. He gave me the
opportunity to fly it at the
1994 Sun' N Fun airshow
In 1993 I had the opportunity
sit down and have a bite to
eat with Henry Potter, the
navigator for Jimmy Doolittle
during the raid on Tokyo!
This picture taken 2005
was right before I had
lunch with General
Yeager at the Oshkosh.
In 1994 I was eating breakfast at a
diner in Alaska when I struck up a
conversation a person sitting next to
me. Turned out he was in charge of
the US Army's BlackHawk Helicopter
Simulator. He was so kind that he got
a pass for me so I could get on the
Army Post and fly the simulator!
Note the
moon slight
ahead and
above my
left wing.
In 2007, Evelyn was enshrined in the United
States Aviation Hall of Fame. Click HERE to
view Evelyn's acceptance speech. (She
received two standing ovations and 3
spontaneous applauses).
Labor Day, 2007 I found myself in the
back seat of a 1944 P-51D in route
from TYS to BHM. The return flight I'm
in the right seat of a Cessna CJ-1.
This round robin will be a flight that I
will never forget. Click HERE to watch
a 4 minute video of the flights.
In 1996 I had the incredible
opportunity to fly with Sean Tucker.
in his Pitts S2B. Thanks to an
onboard movie camera, I was given
the tape of our flights. Here is the
edited version (I deleted the
portions that I clearly showed that I
didn't know what I was doing) Click
HERE to watch our CANYON RUN
This year at 2007 Oshkosh, I
finally got to meet our wing
man during the 1996 flight
with General Yeager, WWII
Ace pilot CE "Bud" Anderson.
He remembered the flight!
In 1995 my high school friend Curt
Drumm and I went for a flight in his 1943
PT-17 Stearman Biplane. It was the 1993
Best in Class winner Oshkosh winner.
In 1997, Mr. Bob Hoover
came by my company's
booth at Oshkosh to get
the skinny on his new
audio panel that was
installed in his famous
Shrike Commander
My company has been so fortunate to
have been able to support an
organization that provides free medical
services to the most remote parts of the
world, and right here in the USA. In
November, Stan Brock, the founder of
Remote Area Medical (RAM) was
enshrined into the Tennessee Aviation
Hall of Fame. See the Enshrinement Here
In 1994, I met Captain CS Needham in
Knoxville, TN. As the pilot of a B-17
(Solid Sender) he completed 35
missions over Germany. I have come
to not only respect him as a hero of
WWII, but as a very special friend.
Top picture is with CS and If
flying in my Archer, the one to
the left was in 2007 at a D-Day
memorial.
In May of 2008 I flew six Young
Eagles and had several wonderful
flights with these young men. It
was truly a privilege to have been
able to share the freedom of flight
with the promise of tomorrow.
Falcon Field in Phoenix, AZ is the
3rd largest GA airport in American.
While I was wondering around the
field early on a Sunday morning
when I came across 4 beautiful
AT-6's. They were about to fly
formation over a military cemetery
and they invited me along. Click
HERE to learn more about "Wings
of Flight Foundation"
A very big honor was
bestowed upon me during
our local EAA Chapter 17
annual banquet. How
humbling this event was for
me, and with great humility I
accepted the Life Time
Achievement Award.
