Why I Fly

Back in 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, 350,000 hippies descended on Woodstock, and the Beetles recorded their last song – my mother (Marilyn) arranged with the local airport to take a bunch of cub scouts up in a small aircraft. I remember piling a bunch of 9-year-old little boys in the back seat of a little Cessna 182 and taking off. As we soared over Boise Idaho at 7,000 feet, I thought this was the coolest thing ever. I remember the pilot was a combination of Tom Selleck, Brad Pitt, and Neil Armstrong all rolled together. The joy of flying left a mark in my psyche that would never go away. I have shared this experience with my mother many years later and she remembers the experience with total terror.

Forty-one years later, I was sitting around drinking a beer and asking myself – “If I could do anything I wanted, what do I want to do?” The answer was “I WANT TO FLY”. So, Rhonda and I enrolled in ground school and started the process. Rhonda learned in ground school that she did not have the passion to fly. I went on to learn how and love flying.

Eight years later, I have logged 542 hours as a private pilot with 721 successful take offs and landings. In 2012, I purchased a Cirrus SR22 and logged 402 hours on this aircraft that includes obtaining my Instrument Rating.

I love to fly!Read more