My love of flying began with stories of my grandfathers. Both were World War II fighter pilots. One was a Pacific theater naval aviator flying corsairs and the other was an air force pilot that flew nearly every prop plane the air force built. It was an inspiring thing to hear as a child. Not to mention my grandmother holding all of her ratings as well, and help my grandfather fly a twin comanche to Spain and back for fun. My father flew as a hobby and introduced me to the finer arts of general aviation. I went to college thinking I would follow my father’s footsteps, become a doctor, and fly for fun. However, I found flying much more to my liking than medicine.
I gained all of my ratings through CFII and MEII in college, was hired by American Eagle Airlines September 3, 2001. I had one of the shortest airline careers of all time. Two weeks later, one incredibly life altering attack on New York, and I was out of a job. I had the help of a very good friend from Louisiana, Lemmie Wood, talk to his son, Chuck Wood, and in a time of an extreme pilot surplus, they helped me secure my first job in corporate aviation. I will be forever grateful. I spent six years flying for different charter companies, helping to manage the charter operations, train the new pilots, and give check rides in westwinds. All the while, I kept my eye on my ultimate goal for a southern guy, to work for Southwest Airlines. In October of 2006, my dream came true, I was hired, and I will be a pilot for Southwest until they ask me leave.
I owe my entire aerobatic training to Dr. Wyche T. Coleman Jr., and Dr Wyche T. Coleman III from Louisiana. The younger Wyche and myself were the only two that pursued both medicine and aviation in college at Louisiana Tech University. I settled on aviation, and Wyche settled on medicine. We’re still waiting to see who made the better choice… I owe an eternal debt to Wyche’s father because he became a second father to me and allowed me access to their world. They were trained by the late master of aerobatics, Marion Cole, and the living legend, Sean D. Tucker. I had the best second hand training known to man.
I moved up to advanced this year. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to fly at the world level. Several great friends of mine have helped tremendously as well, Zach Heffley and Goody Thomas. Both have been role models and I couldn’t have done this well without a great effort on their behalf. I have great hopes for our team this year and we have a spectacular group of aviators flying on behalf of the USA. Please help me in supporting the team this year! Once again, I can’t thank my beautiful wife Kelly, the Coleman’s, my father Warren, my mother Lark, sisters Brooke and Piper, and the rest of my family for their wonderful support through the years.
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