?»?My dad took his first solo flight in 1943 but his love for the art began as early as he can remember. He has logged over 14,000 hours of flight in over 190 different types of aircraft including small engine, military, helicopters, gliders, experimental aircraft, and hot air balloons. He has taught thousands of people to fly and serviced countless aircraft. In doing so, he has had the privilege of working with many notable people including William Piper, owner of Piper Aircraft; Charles Kettering and Edward Deeds, founders of DELCO; Salt Walther, Indy 500 racer; and Steve Whitman, manager of the Oshkosh Airport and instrumental in the annual E.A.A. Fly-In.

He served in the Army Air Corp during World War II; has owned, operated, and was general service manager of several airports; flew flight tests; was a charter pilot; piloted for the traffic scout for WHIO in Dayton, Ohio; was an inspector in the F.A.A.in Milwaukee and Indianapolis; and judged flying competitions in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. He flew cameramen for the Disney Corporation, scouting the current location of Disneyworld in Florida; and for Paramount Pictures in Chicago for a movie location. The highlight of his aviation career was flying for William P. Mayfield, aerial photographer. Mr. Mayfield was famous for his photos of the 1913 flood in Dayton, Ohio and who received his own flight training from Orville and Wilbur Wright. With my father as his pilot, aerial photographs Mr. Mayfield made included the I-70 corridor; National Cash Register; Proctor and Gamble; Ohio State University; the Indianapolis 500 race track; Marathon Oil; Ford Motor Company; General Motors; Notre Dame; the University of Dayton; and President Truman?€™s farm in Independence, Missouri. Flying together, they maintained a perfect safety record. Mr. Mayfield was a close friend and colleague.

My dad?€™s love of flight has been reciprocal. He has been blessed to spend much of his life doing what he loves most in the world, flying.