In this writing, you will find the life story of one army aviator from high school to retirement. It begins with a young Iowa farm boy searching for a career field and finding a lifelong association with the U S Army Aviation Branch. I had the opportunity to get into the farming business with my father, but finding all the hard work that is involved, I decided to enlist in the army and attend the flight training program, and work at a career in aviation. This life story begins with enlistment, basic training, flight school, and a life in the flying world. It covers two deployments to Vietnam, each was one year in length, a segment with the Iowa and Alabama Army National Guard, and sixteen years of being stationed at the home of army aviation, Fort Rucker, Alabama. I was a ground and flight simulator instructor for a civilian contractor, Flight Safety International, following my retirement from the military. I also worked with a FAR part 135 Charter company in Iowa. With that company I flew Piper Azetec, Navaho, Cessna 182, 210, 340, 402, and 414. I also flew a Skymaster part-time. I was assigned duties as chief pilot for them. My last assignment was with Simcom Training Centers in Scottsdale, Arizona; Miami, Florida; and Orlando, Florida. While I worked with them, I had duties of ground, flight simulator, and aircraft flight instruction. I was also selected as assistant training center manager, ultimately ending up my career as the director of business of Jet Training in Miami, Florida. Simcom was a FAR Part 142 Training Center. After leaving them in 2002, I moved to Iowa for a life of retired living. Some of the photos have dates of 2015 on them. This was when I made copies of the originals. All the dates, places, and facts are accurate, to the best of my memory.
In this writing, you will find the life story of one army aviator from high school to retirement. It begins with a young Iowa farm boy searching for a career field and finding a lifelong association with the U S Army Aviation Branch. I had the opportunity to get into the farming business with my father, but finding all the hard work that is involved, I decided to enlist in the army and attend the flight training program, and work at a career in aviation. This life story begins with enlistment, basic training, flight school, and a life in the flying world. It covers two deployments to Vietnam, each was one year in length, a segment with the Iowa and Alabama Army National Guard, and sixteen years of being stationed at the home of army aviation, Fort Rucker, Alabama. I was a ground and flight simulator instructor for a civilian contractor, Flight Safety International, following my retirement from the military. I also worked with a FAR part 135 Charter company in Iowa. With that company I flew Piper Azetec, Navaho, Cessna 182, 210, 340, 402, and 414. I also flew a Skymaster part-time. I was assigned duties as chief pilot for them. My last assignment was with Simcom Training Centers in Scottsdale, Arizona; Miami, Florida; and Orlando, Florida. While I worked with them, I had duties of ground, flight simulator, and aircraft flight instruction. I was also selected as assistant training center manager, ultimately ending up my career as the director of business of Jet Training in Miami, Florida. Simcom was a FAR Part 142 Training Center. After leaving them in 2002, I moved to Iowa for a life of retired living. Some of the photos have dates of 2015 on them. This was when I made copies of the originals. All the dates, places, and facts are accurate, to the best of my memory.