Projects

Flying has been a big part of my life for over 40 years from Props to Jets, Military, Commercial, Private, Recreational and Sport. My licenses include:

FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP): Type Rated in B-747, DC-9, and Airbus 320
FAA Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII)
FAA Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI)
FAA Remote Pilot Small UAS

Below is a chronological account of my time up in the air.

C-150 Commuter

This was the airplane I trained on to earn my Private Pilot License in the late 1970s. I trained at Capitol City Airport (KCXY) near Middletown, Pennsylvania as I was finishing my bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. It was a two-seat, economical airplane.

And, on my long solo cross country, I landed at the wrong airport. My instructor was not impressed when I returned. Read about how it happened here. The airplane cost $20.00 an hour and $10.00 an hour for an instructor. Pretty good bargain considering today’s costs.

Photo credit: Arpingstone at English Wikipedia / Public Domain

C-172K Skyhawk

After obtaining my Private License, I wanted to take more than one passenger, so I got checked out in the four-seat Skyhawk at CXY (I believe it was either the K or L model). I took my first load of passengers to the Reading Air Show.

It was a nerve-racking flight into a busy pattern with three passengers on board. Pressed my limits for sure!

Over my flying career, I flew subsequent variants of the C-172 several times and always enjoyed this simple well-made airplane.

Photo Credit: By FlugKerl2 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,