My flying life started November 27, 1984 when I earned the Aviation Merit Badge in Boy Scouts at the young age of 11.  The memory of the ride in a Cessna 172 stuck with me so well that when I attended Ohio University I immediately started working on my pilots license.

Before long my father had talked to other pilots and they all suggested I get as many ratings as possible.  Before graduation I was a commercial pilot and instructor with a multi-engine endorsement.  One of my first jobs during college was dropping skydivers at the Lancaster, Ohio airport from 1994-1995.

I am not an active pilot due to cost considerations, but I do still fly about 5 hours a year and have approximately 950 flight hours.  Although I am still a commercially rated pilot, I did drop the flight instructor ratings.