Captain Mauney Jackson Underwood began his interest in aviation while employed with the EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tony maintained his job while continuing to receive flight instruction at Lowell Field. Once he had earned his pilot’s license, Tony began his flying career with Turner Construction Company. After working for Lockheed Air Craft as a pilot in South Africa for eighteen months, he returned to the United States and applied for employment with Piedmont Airlines, where he was hired in 1967 and retired from Piedmont/USAirways in 2001, after thirty-four years. Tony held ratings on several aircraft types. Among the ratings were the Martin 404, the Fairchild 227, the YS-11, the Boeing 727, 737, 757, 767, and the Airbus 330. Captain Underwood’s career included several years in the training department where he served as an instructor and as a check airman on various pieces of equipment.
Tony also enjoyed “flying” around the race track, driving stock cars at the local speedways in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tennessee. He even found the time to restore several vintage Ford automobiles. Captain Underwood appreciated the time he spent on the lake, but he couldn’t resist the speed of riding on his jet ski, either. Flying…second nature…in the air, on land, or on the water.