Ronald H. Dixon has been an aviation enthusiast most of his life. He took flying lessons in Kelso, Washington from Maggie Davis, one of the first female instructors, and earned his private pilot's license in 1973. He flew whenever he could, and often spent weekend hours hanging out at the airport talking with and learning from other pilots, a hobby he engages in to this day. He bought a Luscombe taildragger and made several cross-country trips. When he began using the plane for business, he reluctantly replaced it with the faster Beechcraft Musketeer, N2333Z. In the 80's, he earned his instrument certification in Centerville, OH. At this time, Ron has logged over 3,600 flying hours.
While living in Longview, Washington, Ron became friends with Molt Taylor, the inventor and builder of the Aerocar, one of the first flying automobiles that almost made it into production. Ron helped Molt with various projects, such as the Mini-imp, and was the test pilot on one of the early Mini-imp versions.
Ron's association with Molt got him interested in building his own experimental aircraft. He selected the Chris-Tena MiniCoupe which was the first of the "modern era" complete airplane material kits. He completed N72RD in 1972, and is still flying it today.
Ron has always been interested in promoting general aviation. He is a lifetime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and has been a member of several chapters, both on the east and west coasts. He served as President for Chapter 4, based in College Park, MD, for four years. During his tenure, membership increased because of aviation-related group activities that he sponsored. He has also been a long-standing member of AOPA.
In 1992, the EAA launched their Young Eagles program to give children between the ages of 8-17 an opportunity to fly in a general aviation aircraft. Ron became an active participant in the program because of his love of aviation and his desire to instill that love in others. As of this writing, he has flown 271 children in this program.
In 2003, Ron purchased the rights to sell Mini-Coupe builder's plans and established a business called DCS, Inc. where he has sold over two hundred plans to date all over the world. In 2004, he bought the rights to Cal Parker's Teeny Two and Tin Wind, and is also selling plans for those aircraft. Ron established a web site called www.theminicoupe.com and founded the MiniCoupe forum on yahoo.com where builders and aficionados can share their ideas, stories and get assistance. He spends a lot of time talking with potential buyers and builders assisting them with questions they have. Ron makes a nominal profit on this business venture, but primarily does it out of love of aviation.
Quiet Birdmen is a fraternal group of pilots with over 500 logged hours, and you must be nominated by a member to join. Ron was inducted into the Quiet Birdmen organization in 2004, although he isn't very quiet about his love for aviation. Just ask him sometime.