Onset of the addiction...

As my friend Capt. Chuck O'Kelly's above statement suggests, I never need a reason to fly. I just love to fly: day or night, severe clear or in the clouds, in the pattern or across the country - doesn't matter! How in the world did a social worker get into general aviation?

At the encouragement of fellow pilot and social work mentor John Orme (University of Tennessee professor) I started flying lessons the Fall of 1999 and took my private pilot check-ride the following March (PPL-SEL). I told Marla I wouldn't mind having a small plane, maybe after tenure, which would have been five years down the road. Well, I bought a Cessna 150 (C150/U) that May (2000), nicknamed the Velda Fern. After the birth of our son, Nevin, in August and a practice flight with him in the back, Marla said the most loving words any pilot spouse could say, "I think we need a bigger plane." Sold the Cessna in February (2001) and in March bought a Piper Cherokee 180 (P28A/G), a nice four seater that travels at 110 knots (126 mph) and has a range of 550 nautical miles (632 statute miles). We love that plane, would get us from Memphis to Fort Smith in 2 hours or less, beats a 5 hour drive. The Fall of 2001 I began instrument training and took that check-ride in January 2002 (PPL-SEL, Instrument). As of this date, I have accumulated 900 hours of flight time. As you might have guessed, flying is an addiction that, like other addictions, can be transmitted from generation to generation!

Family tranmission...

Aviation has been a part of my family for generations. My Grandpa DeCoster enjoyed airplanes and once in 1926 took a ride out of a pasture in a Stinson for $5 dollars, big money back then. My Grandma, before she died, said he loved flying but it was "... just something beyond their means." My Dad was a tool and die maker (built mockups and tooling) for twenty years at North American - Rockwell International, worked on the Saturn Rocket (system took us to the moon), B1, space shuttle, and other programs. He infected me and Todd with a passion for aviation, bringing pictures home and models to build. I have been very fortunate to have the time and disposable income to become a pilot and aircraft owner.