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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 currently flies TF-51s (P-51D) & L-39s with Stallion51 Corporation located in
Kissimmee, FL
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 800 hours in Super Decathlons, most of those in "Blue". I always tell people
if I'm not at Kissimmee you can find me at the airport tinkering with the Decathlon."
John has flown over 60 types of aircraft flying more than 5500 sorties and 6200 hours
in the last 28 years.
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 currently flies TF-51s (P-51D) & L-39s with Stallion51 Corporation located in
Kissimmee, FL
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 800 hours in Super Decathlons, most of those in "Blue". I always tell people
if I'm not at Kissimmee you can find me at the airport tinkering with the Decathlon."
John has flown over 60 types of aircraft flying more than 5500 sorties and 6200 hours
in the last 28 years.
| John Black American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon ("Blue") Cocoa Beach, Florida |
