Skydiving

I made my first skydive in February 2006 at Skydive Snohomish on Harvey Field (S43) in Snohomish, Washington. It was both my first skydive and my first time ever in an airplane. I was giddy on the flight all the way up to altitude. It was a great experience and the start of one of the best chapters of my life!

In total, I've made 303 skydives to date. Two of them were demonstration jumps; one at a Memorial Day BBQ in Sultan, WA and the other at the Arlington Municiple Airport. I hold a USPA C-license and have more than 18 hours of tunnel time under my belt. My favorite skydiving discipline is 4-way formation skydiving.

Each of my skydives gave me time under canopy during which I developed skills in controlling an airfoil. I developed expertise in many concepts familiar to any pilot (managing energy level, maintaining situational awareness, flying a landing pattern, flaring for landing, interacting with FAA regulations, etc.). I rubbed shoulders with a number of great pilots during those years.

Assuming about 20 minutes of time per airplane ride and 300⁺ skydives means I've spent about 100 hours being an airplane passenger as a skydiver. There was a stunt plane ride (Extra 300L!) in September 2007 out of Harvey Field (S43). Hammerhead rolls are super fun! There were a couple helicopter rides in the mix as well, one out of Harvey Field (S43) and another out of Boeing Field (KBFI). I've also had the pleasure of a handful of jet airplane trips to 'somewhat' far off destinations.

I am an FAA certified Senior Parachute Rigger, rated for both back and seat type parachute systems. I can assemble and pack both main and reserve canopies as well as perform maintenance services. I have considerable sewing skills, having professionally operated industrial sewing machines for more than a decade.

I started packing parachutes at Skydive Snohomish in April 2007. I was an athlete and parachute packing was my sport. In May 2008, I earned my parachute rigger certification and began managing the company's fleet of parachute systems. I spent 3½ years with Skydive Snohomish, racking up thousands of parachute pack jobs and dozens of saves. Those were good times.

In June 2010, I started working at Para-Phernalia building and packing the Softie line of emergency parachutes.

I worked at iFLY Seattle from March 2013 to August 2022 (nearly 9½ years) where I organized operations, developed flight programs, delivered world-class service, and accomplished many great things.

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Stolen Skydiving Equipment

Flying Airplanes

I began my flying journey in May 2016. I solo'd in August of that year. Over the fall, winter, and early spring I completed groundschool and finished up the other requirements to earn my wings in April 2017 (Private Pilot Certification - Airplane Single Engine Land). I loved every minute of it!

My favorite flights include a trip down to McMinville, Oregon (KMMV) to fly through the totality of the solar eclipse, a flight to Shelton, WA (KSHN) to go skydiving, a formation flight out of Skagit Regional Airport (KBVS), the flight where I was cleared into the SeaTac class Bravo airspace, and the numerous flights enjoying the spectacular views of the Puget Sound region.

There are a variety of awesome restaurants around the Puget Sound region located on or near airports. I would recommend Ellie's at the Airport (Arlington Municipal Airport - KAWO), Mukilteo Coffee Roasters (Whidbey Air Park - W10), and the Spruce Goose Café (Jefferson County International - 0S9). All of these are worth visiting more than once!

The freedom of the skies, the magnificent views, the intellectual challenge, the learning, the growth, the fun, the community, and the 'Americana' of it all drew me into the world of aviation. I love it!