| =============================================================== Originally from Dayton, Ohio John now lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida. John credits his love of flying to his father and growing up in the "Birth Place of Aviation". "My Dad instilled my love of flying; the Air Force Museum was our 2nd home. I'd run outside every time I heard an airplane. Balsa wood airplanes, model rockets, and radio-controlled airplanes filled my time. My Dad and I would always go to the Dayton Air Show. There we watched the legends; Bob Hoover, Duane Cole, Art Scholl, Charlie Hillard & Harold Johnson." John learned to fly in 1984 when he was 17 at a little airport called Moraine Airpark. He acknowledges this as a defining time for him. "My first lesson was during Easter break in 1984. I had my pilot's license before I started my senior year of high school. Moraine Airpark also offered aerobatic training. My first aerobatic lesson was in a Super Decathlon before I had my private license. I still remember my first time upside down like it was yesterday." John attended college at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. He received a Bachelor of Science in Aircraft Engineering Technology and completed the A.F. ROTC program. His summers always led him back to Dayton though. "I spent my college summers back in Dayton at Moraine Airpark pumping gas, cleaning windshields, mowing the field, and flying everything I could get my hands on". John was commissioned in the Active Duty Air Force in August 1989. He completed pilot training in April 1991 after a year of flying T-37s & T-38s. John is now retired from military service. During his twenty one years in the Active Duty Air Force and Florida Air National Guard all his assignments were flying F-15A & Cs. He amassed 3600 hours of Eagle time and earned the rank of Lt Col. John was an F-15 Instructor, Evaluator, & Mission Commander. John currently flies TF-51s (P-51Ds), L-39s, and AT-6s with Stallion51 Corporation located in Kissimmee, FL. As well, John flies with Florida Air Tours giving scenic sorties around Cocoa Beach in Waco UPF-7s. Even though John flies one of the best airplanes in the world he's always held aerobatic flying close to his heart. "Through all my Air Force years, and now with Stallion, I've continued to fly general aviation aircraft, especially Citabrias and Decathlons. We bought our Super Decathlon in early 2002. It is a great airplane! The Bahama Blue color of her paint really stands out in the sun, so we started calling her "Blue". I have a little over 1200 hours in Super Decathlons, most of those in "Blue". I always tell people if I'm not at Kissimmee, or flying the Waco, you can find me at the airport tinkering with the Decathlon." John has flown over 60 types of aircraft flying more than 8200 sorties and 8100 hours in the last 37 years. |
| John Black American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon ("Blue") |
