An Australian, Michael (Mike) Diamond was born on October 13, 1963 in Ballarat, Victoria. Inheriting a love of planes from his father, he has fond memories as a young boy running around his local schoolyard mimicking the swing wing F-111 bomber with his friends. As a teenager, he joined like-minded boys and girls in the Australian Air League, an aviation-focused youth group that promotes and encourages the development of an appreciation of aviation in Australian youth. In 1997, after 16 years working with the Victoria Police, he began a career in IT and finally underwent flight training to become a private pilot, flying from Bacchus Marsh. A keen aviation history buff, Mike has spent many hours enjoying books, articles and movies about aviation history from the early pioneers to present day. His love of aviation has taken him to many airshows throughout Australia and New Zealand. He has a particular fondness for the Spitfire; a trait he shared with his father. Also, as a child of the Apollo era, he has maintained a strong interest in manned space flight, both past and present. He continues to closely follow NASA missions and has been a member of the National Air and Space Museum since 1992. Now as the devoted father of two boys, he returned to the Australian Air League in 2010 and, as the Commanding Officer of Sunbury Squadron, he now imparts his knowledge, skills and experience on to the next generation of pilots. Mike loves flying and, when earthbound, he still looks skyward upon hearing the sound of an aero engine.