As a full time Real Estate Investor during the week, flying is a passion and not a career for me, married for 28 years with a daughter and son that are very supportive of my flying endeavors it has been rewarding to share flying with them.
I got started flying way back in 1976 after two of my older brothers became fighter pilots, one in the Marine Corps and the other Navy. With them as mentors I had the inspiration I only needed a plan, Then While working during college as a professional water skier in Wisconsin Dells, one of my colleagues offered me the use of his plane to get my private ticket; The experience of flying this worn out, non radio, no electric and unreliable 1946 Cessna taildragger inspired me, somehow, to fly ever more challenging aircraft.
Soon an older mechanic friend, Charlie Grimes and I had completed a Citabria rebuild and I started in sportsman in 1996. I quickly found a Pitts S1 project that took almost 4 years to get to flying status and began working through Intermediate level in contests. I flew my first Nationals in 2003 and have accumulated most of my acro experience in our S1S and the 1971 S2A Pitts that I teach acro and spin training with today.
In 2007 I made a trade to the Giles 202 and moved to advanced in 2009. I have enjoyed the challenges of competitive flying and judging at contests and especially how it sharpens your flying skills, however the friendships that you build over the years with new and old flying buddies is the real reward you get from the IAC family. . At most contests I enjoy the opportunity to act as safety pilot in the 202 for new pilots starting in their first IAC contests. I look forward to working with Nikolay as team Captain and getting the benefit of his World Competition experience. All of us on the Advanced Team look forward to working and training hard with him to have Team USA bring home gold…..
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