In 1994 I was assigned to Patrol Squadron 47 in Barbers Point, HI.  I was thrilled to be flying in a P-3 Orion at 200 feet above the blue waters of the Pacific at 200 kts hunting Russian submarines - the aviation seed had been sown.  Regrettably, I wasn’t a Navy pilot; qualified instead as an in-flight technician or what the USN classified as an IFT. Those Navy years were incredible, from Aurora Borealis in Fairbanks, Alaska to the Southern Star in Adelaide, Australia, I logged over 1500 hours in one of Lockheed’s finest. The10-hour missions over the Indian and Pacific oceans, among “others,” were so inspiring that I joined a small flying club where my desire to learn about aviation was fueled. The experience gained from the P-3 was unique. The concepts of teamwork, crew resource management, aeronautical decision making and focusing are skill sets that every aviator should possess.

Learning to fly isn’t hard, but it requires determination and desire. Someone once said, “if it were easy everybody would do it.” As a flight instructor I am skilled in teaching you the art of flying and the science that makes it work.  There is no greater satisfaction or reward as to when you are on short final, you flare, the mains touch and all the hard work and skills you have learned are executed perfectly!