Pilot training was done at Vance AFB in Oklahoma in T-37s and T-38s, earning my wings in October 1967. With the Viet Nam conflict at its height, and not being a hero type, I thought flying a nice big C-141 would spare me any exposure to the dangers of combat. But during pilot training I really got a thrill out of flying fighter type aircraft, formation flying, and aerobatics. When training was completed and it was time to choose an aircraft for my first assigment, I forgot all about my initial conservative goal and requested the F-4 Phantom II, the premier Air Force fighter at that time. . . . All of which were going to Viet Nam.

Assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter "Nite Owl" Squadron in Ubon, Thailand, we flew low-level attack missions at night targeting supply routes and anti-aircraft gun emplacements. My original commitment to fly 100 missions over North Vietnam before returning home was within 6 flights of completion after 5 months of duty when President Johnson halted all bombing of North Vietnam. This allowed me to extend my all-expenses paid vacation in Asia for an additional 11 months during which time I flew an additional 127 missions over northern Laos. Of the total 221 combat missions, 211 were flown at night. I finished my 5-year military commitment as as T-38 flight instructor at Columbus AFB in Mississipppi. At times I found this experience more hazardous than combat!

Upon leaving the Air Force, the airlines were quite selective in their hiring and preferred heavy multi-engine experience over resumes of us fighter types. Thus ended my flying career as I was plunged from near poverty in the military to real poverty in the business world. The rebirth of aviation as a part of my life came with the August 1981 issue of Popular Science. It featured on the cover a beautiful, sleek, 180 mph, new composite technology aircraft called the Quickie 2. The Q2 appealed to me because it didn't look like a conventional airplane. The canard wing design made it look different than anything else that was flying. I just had to build one of these. Of course I knew nothing about building an aircraft, nor did I have any idea what "composite" construction was. I joined the EAA and began.

Sixteen and a half years, three moves, and over 5,000 hours of building time later, the dream took flight right here in Asheville, NC. While the plane doesn't meet the performance specifications described in the 1981 article (no surprise), it is a delight to fly and possesses some of the flying characteristics of the fighters that I loved flying. The Q2 is a side-by-side two passenger aircraft weighing 671 pounds, powered by a 75 hp Volkswagen engine with dual ignition systems. It burns only 3.8 gallons per hour at full throttle cruise of 161 mph TAS. Stall comes at 64 mph, and the recently tested service ceiling is 14,050'.

In 1987 my wife, Nancy, and I bought a Beech Musketeer in which she earned her pilot's license. We used it to satisfy our flying desires during the Q2 construction years. With the advent of the Q2, we decided to keep the Beech and now have "his" and "hers" airplanes.   appears in the "Other Aircraft" section of this website.) It makes for a lot of fun flying formation together! While flying was not originally intended to be a part of my life, it has been and continues to be a most stimulating and rewarding endeavor. I have found the building of an airplane to be just as rewarding as the actual flying of one.