Foil: 7 Panel: 4 Column: 4 Line: 70

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

AS a young man in the late 1940's, my father owned a share of a plane, and flew until the plane was destroyed by a hailstorm. As a farmer with a large family, he was notable to justify the expense of purchasing another plane, but his interest in flying was passed on to the next generation through me. As a kid, I was intrigued by rubber-band-powered balsa-wood planes. My interest in planes made an impression on my parents who gave me flight lessons as an early 16th birthday gift. I started lessons in 1976 over Thanksgiving break and soloed over Christmas break. After graduation, I attended Montana State University and joined the Flying Bobcats, the MSU collegiate flying club. One of my fondest memories is the club trip to Battle Creek, MI to attend the national collegiate meet. We flew 13 hours in one day over a part of the United States I had never seen before: flat, flat, really flat stretches of land, and Lake Michigan, the largest body of water I'd ever flown over. I received my private certificate a month after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1983, I soon started an engineering career and put flying on hold. Using my inheritance and my spousal privileges (Terri Fraser Morse - honoree on the Wall of Honor) to join the Boeing Employees Flying Association, I returned to flying after an 18 year hiatus. Feeling the impact of Seattle's perpetually gloomy weather, I soon started on an instrument rating and achieved certification in May 2003. My next goal is to build my own airplane and secure the opportunity to continue flying for many years into the future.