Multifaceted AVIATOR

John has been flying for about 23 years and has over 13,000 hours of flying time. John was introduced to flying by one of his friends shortly after he graduated high school. John continued to take flight lessons during college and in his senior year, John discovered the Air National Guard. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, John went to the Air National Guard pilot training program where he got his wings from the Air Force in Texas and was assigned to the Air Guard in Minnesota. Now he flies both the C-130 Hercules and the F-16 for the Guard.

In his quest to continually improve his skills as a pilot, John began to train and participate in competitive aerobatic contests on both the regional and national level. This led him into air show performing and ultimately to flying air shows for the Air National Guard.

He was drawn to the world of aerobatics because of the high-degree of concentration and mental toughness it requires. John is exceptionally passionate about flying on behalf of the Air Guard. He’s traveling around the world expressing the story of the Air Guard and all of the great benefits it has to offer.

So when he is not flying C-130 turboprop transport aircraft around the world or the F-16 Fighting Falcon in air support and combat roles, John serves as first officer with a major U.S. commercial airline. When John’s not in the cockpit, he enjoys camping, fishing and traveling with his family. He has a beautiful wife, Deborah and two delightful children, Leah and Danny.