Hometown: Melbourne, Florida

Hometown Airport: COI

Occupation: Flight Instructor, Author, FAAST Team Rep

Education: BA, MA, USNR (ret)

Pilot Certificates: ASMEL Instrument, CFIA

Airplanes Flying/Flown: J-3, Citabria, C-140, C-72, C-182, C-337, C-340, PA-28-180, PA-28-235, PA-23-250,

Education Specialty: Tailwheel primary and conversions

Q & A

What drew you to aviation? Love of flying from early age.  Navy tradition from father.  Passion increased during youth and has kept building.  Concentrate now on flying for fun and teaching others the joy of flight.

How long have you been involved in aviation education? 3 years

What’s your favorite part of what you do in aviation education? Teach tailwheel flying.  All pilots should be exposed to flying tailwheel aircraft so that they can learn the effects of winds and become sensitive to the importance of weight and balance.

What’s your least favorite part of what you do in aviation education? None.

Do you have a memorable aviation experience you’d like to share? Too many to recount them all, but mainly I love to immerse myself into a beautiful summer day on a freshly cut grass strip and experience the sights, smells and feel of a responsive light aircraft.

Why did you join SAFE? I felt that SAFE stood for what I believed was the right direction for an aviation education organization.

What would you like to see change in aviation? Better, more consistent training for pilots combining incentive based efforts with high quality opportunities.

Any suggestions on how the above might be accomplished? SAFE and the FAA can share in the effort to provide more and better opportunities to keep pilots involved in meaningful training.  What gets rewarded gets done.

Any accomplishments in, or noteworthy contributions to aviation and/or aviation education you’d like to mention? Articles covering pilot training.