Dave Callanan was fascinated with aviation from a very early age, growing up in the flight pattern of historic Willow Run Airport, outside of Detroit, Michigan in the 1950's. Kaiser-Frazer built C-119 Flying Boxcars at the former Ford Willow Run Bomber Plant in Ypsilanti, and these were routinely seen overhead. Then there were the mighty jets from the Willow Run Air Force Station, 30th Air Division, and the occasional sonic booms, back when supersonic flight over land was permitted. His father, a United States Army Air Forces Veteran of World War Two, often told him stories of P-38s, P-51s and together they watched 12 O'Clock High, the movie and TV series.

Dave followed the early U.S. space program and frequently wrote to the Public Affairs Office of NASA to receive as much information as he could about the Mercury Seven Astronauts. As he grew up, and through careers working as a legal investigator, Special Assistant to the Michigan Senate Majority Leader, the governor and roles as a lobbyist and bureau director, Dave's passion for aviation never diminished. When he retired from public service, he volunteered with the Yankee Air Force, doing business as the Yankee Air Museum. He joined the crew of the B-17G Yankee Lady and became its PR Executive. Ultimately, Dave became Director of Outreach Services for the Museum in 2014, and served as air fleet scheduler and public affairs executive until he retired (again) in 2021.