Perhaps, genetically inherited. Perhaps, the result of nurturing by his family. One thing is clear; Forrest A. Schmeck has always had a special interest in aviation.
As a child, he enjoyed building model airplanes with his father and his family anxiously awaited the yearly Reading, Pennsylvania Air Show. Another fond memory is of the pipeline patrol plane. Forrest would run to the strip of treeless land near his childhood home so he could greet the pilot with a wave of his arms . . . and be thrilled by seeing the return wave, the rock of the plane's wings.
The effects of aviation in the blood stream only grew stronger with his first glider ride, a 21st birthday present from the girlfriend he later married. After many years of piloting for personal pleasure, he started his own aviation business, Black Diamond Soaring, Inc. Located on a small turf runway, it literally had a grassroots beginning. He chuckles when he says he "goes to work" with his wife Deb and dog Diamond by his side because he is actually sharing the joy of flying a tow plane, sailplanes, tail draggers, and other assorted aircraft. Sometimes referred to as an official toy tester, Forrest savors the time he spends communing with the skies in classic airplanes ... his Cessna Skywagon C-180, his sailplane, a Piper Supercruiser PA-12 and an occasional Stearman biplane.