I was born and raised in Sheboygan, attending local schools and graduating from North High in 1975.  I had wanted to fly from an early age and even had a engineering drawing of a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 on my bedroom wall.  My first trip to the EAA convention was in the summer of 1974 where I saw many concepts that are common today. 

             I received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering.  I had some flight training there in the Cessna T-41 (a supercharged 172).  After completing pilot training at Vance AFB in Enid, OK where I flew Cessna T-37s and Northrop T-38s, I was assigned to the 4^th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Ellsworth AFB (near Rapid City), SD in 1981.  I flew the Boeing EC-135, a modified KC-135 for about 6 years as both a copilot and aircraft commander.

            After serving the Air Force for more than 7 years, I left to fly for Pan American World Airways.  I was hired in May of 1987 and assigned as a flight engineer on a Boeing 727 based in Berlin, Germany.  We flew the “corridors” made famous by the Berlin Airlift to points throughout West and East Europe.  Living and working in Berlin at the time was quite an adventure and one of the greatest points in my life was to be there when the Berlin Wall was coming down and witnessing the changes as they occurred. 

            I flew out of Miami for the last few months of Pan Am’s existence and was then hired by United, again as a flight engineer on the 727, this time based in Chicago.  I flew the 727 as an engineer and copilot and then upgraded to the Boeing 777 in 1997.  I’ve been doing that ever since and it was sort of my introduction to EAA Chapter 766.  Shortly after checking out on the 777, I was asked to be the program for a chapter meeting, speaking on the 777. 

            I’ve been involved with the chapter since then;  more so recently serving as program chairman and president in recent years.  With this position, I became an active member of the Sheboygan County Aviation Corporation Board of Directors and was elected the Secretary in 2007.

            As a copilot on the 777, I fly to Europe, Asia, and domestically and could go to South America and the Middle East.  I enjoy the flying and look forward to upgrading to captain someday.  One of the highlights of my flying the 777 was being in London, England and seeing Princess Diana’s funeral procession in 1998.

            I retained a commission in the Air Force Reserve and served as an Air Force Academy Admissions Liaison officer from 1988 until I retired in 2007 as a lieutenant colonel.  In this capacity, I counseled students on the Academy and the ROTC scholarship programs.