Captain Gorden was the first in his family to want to fly. He caught the bug while watching airliners land at the airport as a young man. That was only the beginning and once he got his hands on that first airplane he knew aviation would be in his life forever. His training progressed as most do with challenges and successes. The defining characteristic for Captain Gorden is his unending optimism. No matter what arises in aviation and in life he knows it will work out.
He worked several "small" flying jobs enroute to building his airline career. The following is the chronology of his airline career.
* Blackhawk Airways--Janesville, WI 1976
* Transcontinental Airlines--Detroit, MI 1977
* Zantop International Airlines--Detroit, MI 1978
* North Central Airlines--Minneapolis, MN April 19, 1979 merger
* Republic Airlines--1979 merger
* Northwest Airlines--1986 merger
* Delta Airlines—2010 to retirement in 2016
Captain Gorden has vast experience in several types and sizes of aircraft.
* C152, C172, C182, A-Champ, DHC-Beaver, C310, T50, T34, BE18, BE19, BE50, BE55, BE90, PA28, PA31, PA32
* Type Ratings: CV-340, CV-440, DC6, DC7, DC9, B727, A320, B747-200, B747-400
In addition to thousands of hours of flight time as pilot in command he has hundreds of hours as a flight instructor passing on his years of experience to future aviators. He earned his CFI/CFII/MEI instructor certificate. While building his career he became interested in the mechanical side of aviation and earned his Mechanics certificate with Airframe and Powerplant ratings and actively maintains aircraft that he flies. Finally some basic numbers that speak volumes about Captain Leslie D. Gorden:
* 50 Years Flying experience
* 37 Years Airline career
* Millions of miles flown
* 0 Accidents
* 1 Wife
* 4 Children
* 10 Grandchildren