• In my first Blog posting “How I Got Started on This Journey” I relate how I began my participation at Airshows, Fly-ins, Museum Open Days and Other Aviation related events started.  My increased participation / attendance at Airshows, etc., wasn’t my real start in aviation as I have been interested in aviation since I was about 7 or 8 years old.

​

• My initial desire to be a pilot went back to when I had a Steve Canyon Flight Suit and Helmet when I was in second / third grade.  My ‘dream’ of being a pilot was dashed when I learned while taking my physical for the United States Naval Academy (USNA) I have no depth perception. This didn’t stop me from wanting a career in aviation.  I pursued that dream during my summer leaves from the Academy when I would fly with Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron TEN (HS-10) the West Coast SH-3 Sea King Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron ONE (HC-1) flying the SH-3G Sea King.  When I flew with HC-1 it was embarked in USS Ticonderoga (CVS 14) for the Skylab 2 space shot recovery in June 1973.  In addition to flying on three of the simulated recovery flights, I took the opportunity to stand bridge watches as Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) and had the distinct honor of being on the last underway bridge team prior to TICO being decommissioned on 01 September 1973.

​

• After graduating from USNA and commissioning as an Ensign I was designated a Student Naval Flight Officer (SNFO) thus allowing me to continue with my career in aviation.  Prior to starting Flight School in Pensacola, FL, I was attached to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SIX (HC-6) flying the CH-46D Sea Knight out of Naval Air Station (NAS) Norfolk, VA.  While attached to HC-6 I was able to accrue around 50 hours of flight time on training flights and during a short deployment to the Mediterranean Sea – riding one detachment over to the Med embarked in USS Sylvania (AFS 2) then cross decking to USS Concord (AFS5) and returning with Concord’s embarked H-46 Detachment.  By the time I got to flight school I had nearly 80 hours of military flight time in five types of aircraft flying off of four classes of ships.

​

• After completion of Flight School where I flew the T-34B Mentor, T-2C Buckeye, T-39D Sabreliner, and TA-4F Skyhawk I was designated a Naval Flight Officer on 31 October 1975.  I then proceeded to NAS Cecil Field, Jacksonville, FL, for my first operational flying assignment with Air Anti-submarine Squadron TWENTY-FOUR (VS-24).  On joining the squadron learned I had joined a squadron with no aircraft assigned as VS-24 was in the middle of transitioning from the S-2F Tracker to the S-3A Viking which we did during the Spring and Summer of 1976.  After completing the transition at NAS North Island in San Diego, CA, VS-24 received 10 new aircraft from Lockheed Martin. As an aside, while taking a tour of the Lockheed facilities in Burbank, CA, we say seven (7) of the ten (10) aircraft earmarked for our squadron on the Production Flight Line going through final test before being accepted by the Navy. 

​

• My other flying assignments included an instructor tour with Training Squadron EIGHTY-SIX (VT-86) – the Navy’s Advanced Jet Navigation (AJN) Training Squadron for SNFOs – flying the T-39D and TA-4F, an operational tour with VS-32 flying the S-3A Viking, and finally with Fleet Composite Squadron SIX (VC 6) as the Officer-in-Charge of the Navy’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Detachment flying the RQ-2 Pioneer.  While assigned to VC-6 I got my flight time wherever and whenever I could - predominately the P-3C Orion, C-9B Skytrain II, and CH-53E Sea Stallion.  After a twenty-year Navy Career with nearly 1800 flight hours and 200 Carrier Arrested Landings on three different Aircraft Carriers (USS Nimitz (CVN68), USS America (CV66) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN71) I folded Navy wings so to speak on 30 June 1994.  That didn't stop me from want to continue my association with the aviation community and flying. 

  • As I write this update - 2022 - I have about 2000 hours of flight time in 20 different Military and Warbird types.

​

• Photos found in the various sections of this site will be of aircraft on the ground and in the air, along with other sights associated with Airshows, Fly-ins, and other aviation related events. 

  • There might even be times when I will step out of my comfort zone and shoot non-Aviation subjects.

​

• Blog posts will contain stories on the people and happenings associated with aviation. The aircraft stories will cover the history of an aircraft type or specific airframe.

​​

• T he photos of me on this page hold some special meaning. 

  • Upper left is from one of my first flights on the Airshow Circuit with Hal Ewing in his Beech C-45F Expeditor. 

  • Upper right was at one of the Boshears' Airshows where Hal had prepositioned the airplane and said, "It's All Yours."  Of course, he didn't leave the keys :-). 

  • The bottom photo was taken 04 July 2019 during the SC Salute From the Shore tribute flight down the SC coast.  I was wearing the flight helmet from my Navy days - which I hadn't worn in 30 years - from my last S-3A operational tour with VS-32.  The patches on my flight suit are also associated with VS-32 and the S-3A Viking.

​