Captain Joe Michael Bacon earned a Private Pilot Certificate while in college and completed Class 66-F of USAF Pilot Training in Laredo, Texas after graduating from Tarleton State University with a degree in Business, 1964.
Assigned to the 51st Bomb Squadron, as a copilot on B-52 G's at Seymour Johnson AFB, 1966-67, and later was a copilot on H model B-52's with the 524th Bomb Squadron at Wurtsmith AFB, 1969-70. Joe volunteered for the 9th Air Commando's and flew 325 combat psychological warfare missions as an aircraft commander from Danang, Vietnam, in a Douglas C-47, 1968-69. Later, Joe belonged to the 125 Military Airlift Squadron of the Air Guard in Tulsa, OK and trained on Douglas C-124's for a short period.
After separating from the Air Force in 1970, he flew Beech 18's and C-47's with Alpena Flying Service for a year and a half then with Dillard's Department Stores as pilot on Barons and copilot on the Hawker Siddley 125. Attempting airline positions, he was trained, at various times, by United Airlines as a 737 copilot and flew with Southwest Airlines 1973-76, trained with Piedmont Airlines for B-737 Captain upgrade, and trained with TWA as a B-707 first officer for Saudi Arabian Airlines. Settling on a career as a Learjet Captain, he flew for Flight Proficiency Training School, Dallas, TX, Flight International in VA, providing passive radar detection for the U.S. Navy. He flew Lears for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company, St Louis, 1985-88. During this period Joe was proud to teach his son, Chris to fly, soloing him at the age of 16.
Between 1991 and 2010, Joe flew Lear 25's for Saudi Aerial Photo Company, 1991-93, where aerial photo service was provided to the Saudi government and flights made with Saudi royalty throughout the Middle East, Africa, The Mediterranean, Europe, and the Atlantic, Mitsubishi MU-2's for Intercontinental Jet of Tulsa, Chartered Lears for United States Aviation of Tulsa, and Omni Air Transport of Tulsa where he retired in 2010.
He has had formal, factory approved training in 14 different aircraft! His type ratings include the Boeing 737, Lear Jet, Cessna CE-500, and Douglas DC-3. He holds an Airline Transport Rating in Single and multi engine aircraft, a Single Engine Sea Plane rating, a helicopter-rotorcraft rating, an Instructor's Rating in Single and Multi Engine Aircraft and Instrument Instructor.
Joe is giving back to aviation currently as a flight instructor with Tulsa Aviation Group of Claremore, OK. Joe owned and operated his own Cessna 172 for twenty two years enjoying flights across the U.S. with his family.
The majority of his flying has been in the Lear 20 and 30 series aircraft as charter captain. He has over 6000 hours in these planes and has logged over 18,500 hours total. Along the way he had the priviledge of meeting some of his heroes such as Chuck Yeager, Bob Hoover, Pappy Boyington, Adolph Galland, Scott Crossfield, Frank Borman, , Wally Schirra and Neil Armstrong