I took my first flight with American Airlines as a senior in high school on a trip from Orlando to Nashville…seeing the world from that viewpoint was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. As many pilots say, I wanted to fly since I was a child. I remember as young as 6 years old staring into the sky, looking at cloud formations and watching planes race through them. That’s when the dream began.

But as you know, life happens. It wasn’t until age 32 that I started my Private Certificate (all thanks to my wife pushing me to chase the dream). The experience of taking control of an actual aircraft, making it fly and then making it land? It’s a thrill unlike any accomplishment I had made thus far in my life. Now that I have become a Commercial Flight Instructor, I get to experience that all over again through up and coming pilots I work with!!

I earned my Private certificate with ExcelAvia, LLC at Nashville International Airport (BNA) and my Instrument, Commercial, CFI, CFII, MEI certificates with ATP Inc. at Bowling Green Regional (BWG). My training continues…daily.

If you find yourself looking into the sky wondering what it would be like to fly, you have got to try it today! If you have ever dreamt of piloting an aircraft…today is the day to make your dream a reality!!

"More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled
with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost, if
you can conceive of such a combination."

— Wilbur Wright

My first introduction to flying came in a rather unusual way. When I was five years old I saw Peter Pan for the first time (and not the Disney cartoon movie, the Mary Martin play version). I immediately turned to my mom and said, “That’s what I want to do, I want to fly.” Later that year in kindergarten, my teacher was talking about all the jobs that we could grow up and do. When it came my turn to tell the class what I was going to do I told them I was going to fly. My teacher trying to calm the other students down asked me, “So you want to be a pilot?” I had no idea what a pilot was but if it involved flying, then yes.

My parents kept hoping I would grow out of that crazy flying phase, but I never did. Finally for my seventeenth birthday my parents bought me my first flight. I think they did it mostly hoping it would scare me into reconsidering what I wanted to do with my life, considering I hate roller coasters and sudden drops. Unfortunately for my parents their plan backfired. I absolutely fell in love with flying (it is very hard to describe that feeling you get while you are in the air, it is complete freedom), and knew that’s what I was meant to do.

From that first flight I started working on my private and finished just as I was about to start college at Middle Tennessee State. At MTSU I majored in Aerospace Professional Pilot and continued my flight training completing my instrument, commercial, and multi. I completed my CFI not a week before I graduated from MTSU, fall 2009. I immediately went into my masters, Airline and Airport Management (which I am currently working on). If you are interested in flying, please give me a call it would be a privilege to share my love of aviation and flying with you.

"When once you have tested flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

— Leonardo Da Vinci

As a child, I always had my eye toward the sky. I grew up in West Seneca, New York and St. Petersburg, Florida. It all started with my reading issues of Flying magazine in the elementary school library and daydreaming about landing my seaplane off some remote island to spend the day. While I haven't quite done the seaplane thing... the adventure (and interest) is still there. Is there yet another rating in my future?

My telecommunications career relocated me to Phoenix, Arizona, where I decided to carry out my childhood daydream and earn my Private Pilot certificate. This not only exposed me to flying within complex airspace, but allowed me to develop my mountain flying skills and fly some of the most beautiful country in the U.S. I have fond memories of flying the Sonoran and Painted Deserts, navigating the Superstition Mountains and landing on the mesa of Sedona Airport.

Upon relocating to Nashville, I decided to advance my skills earning my Instrument, Multi-engine, Commercial, and Flight Instructor certifications and ratings. Much of this coursework was accomplished at Wings of Eagles. I enjoy teaching here. It is rewarding to help someone develop their flying skills.

I hold a number of degrees and certifications in music, business and computers including an MBA.

Being an avid adventurer, I've hiked mountains and back-country, skied, sailed, four-by-foured, mountain biked, snowmobiled and motorcycled many locations across the U.S. I've been a professional drummer and percussionist as well as hold an Extra Class Amateur Radio License.

I reside in Smyrna with my wife Jan.

I was born into the world of aviation since my dad had made a career with the United States Air Force. I suppose I finally got the flying itch when I was eight years old and my family was returning to the USA from a four-year tour in West Germany. We came back across “the pond” on a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The entire eight-hour flight was an adventure in my mind. I especially remember the captain calling for all the children on board to come up to the cockpit and see the flight from the crew’s perspective. I was amazed at the view, both inside and out. The first thing I noticed upon entering their domain was an overwhelming myriad of dials, switches, and lights; beyond that, through the windscreen, all you could see was what looked like a blanket of snow for as far as the eye could see.

While that experience made a lasting impression on me, I didn’t realize that it had created such a burning desire to become a pilot until after I had already graduated from college. In 2005, with the support and encouragement of my wife, I finally decided to pursue this passion. In a little over a year-and-a-half, I had not only earned my commercial certificate with single-engine, multiengine, and instrument privileges through MTSU’s aerospace program, but I had also earned my flight instructor certificate and had begun training student pilots.

Since 2006 I have gained a great deal of experience in the flight training environment. I have added the instrument and multiengine ratings to my flight instructor certificate and have also earned the Gold Seal flight instructor designation. I have spent nearly 500 hours with the Garmin G-1000 avionics platform and have even had the opportunity to train FAA aviation safety inspectors in that system.

While I truly have a passion for flying, I also have a passion for teaching. I love seeing someone “get it” for the first time and knowing I had a part in that. What’s even more satisfying is to know that I am shaping careers and instilling the same passion for flying that I have in others.

Aviation is a broad field. While I’m not certain of my next step there, I know that I will always instruct. As a matter of fact, I can’t wait for the day when my son, Eli, is old enough to begin training for his own private pilot certificate. What an incredible experience to begin a lineage of pilots within my own family. Who knows, I might even be able to convince my wife and daughter to one day take the controls as well.

I had my first aviation experience at the age of 10 when my dad and I took a helicopter scenic ride in a Bell 47. I can remember thinking how cool it was to view the earth from that perspective. I got my first airplane experience when I went on my high school senior trip and knew right then that I wanted to fly airplanes someday. Since my parents were paying for my college and totally against me getting a degree in aviation, I got a bachelor’s degree in turfgrass management because I love the outdoors.

After working on a golf course for five years, I decided it was time to pursue my goal of getting my pilots license. With the support of my wife I took my first flight lesson in March of 2009 and earned my private certificate the following September. Ever since then I just can’t get enough of flying. With the exception of my multiengine rating I have done all my training here at Wings and have loved every minute of it.

I currently live in Mount Juliet with my wife and our two children. If you are like I was and wondering if you can make your dream of flying a reality I’m here to tell you that you can do it. It takes hard work and dedication but the satisfaction of getting your certificate is an accomplishment that will last a lifetime.