I most readily identify as a software geek. I have been in that business for 40 years and after that much time it is hard for that to not become an integral part of one’s identity. With that said, I have long intended to eventually retire from the business of having a regular software related day job and spend some time as a flight instructor. That time finally came in 2018. (Feel free to engage me in what I see as regular chronic dysfunctions in the software industry. I won’t rehash those here, however.)
I did my initial flight training at Johnston County Airport back in 1989, and once I had my license bought a 1967 Cherokee 180. My wife earned her pilot’s license in that aircraft as well. We hit a point (money) where we had to sell it, and my flying went into hibernation (off and on, mostly off) for about a decade. I eventually joined the Wings of Carolina Flying Club, and earned my Instrument rating working with George Scheer.
After the passage of some time, I eventually earned my Commercial rating, then in 2018 my CFI certificate, both again with George. This was after years of him suggesting I get my CFI and start instructing, but I had to get to a point where I could walk away from a regular day-job before I felt I had the time (and mental bandwidth) to do the work needed for the CFI.
Over the course of the years I’ve also spent some time earning a tailwheel endorsement, building an airplane (a Van’s RV-7, documented at my builder’s website), partnering on a 1967 Citabria 7ECA, taking aerobatics training, taking extensive spin training, and doing as much flying as I could find time to afford. I’ve made numerous trips to Oshkosh, Sun-n-Fun, and TripleTree, as well as having flown the Hudson River VFR Corridor, and other flying adventures.
As of April 23, 2021, I have also earned my A&P certificate and am now an FAA certified A&P mechanic. This was after a long process, with help from many people and encouragement/support from even more. This gives me a somewhat different perspective on things than your average CFI, and I hope that is a good thing.
I’ll confess to being a bit of a tailwheel bigot, and when I started instructing at the club I had more tailwheel time in my logbook than tri-gear time. That is going to change as I instruct in Cessnas and Pipers, but my love for tailwheel flying won’t diminish with those additional hours. I have purchased a Super Decathlon so that I can give tailwheel instruction too. See my Tailwheel section for more details if you are curious. As of this writing I have about 2700 hours, and I hope that this experience can bring something of value to my students.
On the personal side I’ve been married about as long as I’ve been paid to write software. We have two adult children, two dogs, and live in Cary. This should identify me as your classic boring suburbanite, but the long hair, beard, and Birkenstocks argue otherwise. I’ll leave each individual to make up their mind for themselves regarding my level of boring-ness.