SKJohn's Story
I live in Mesa, Arizona with my wife and four children. I have been a teacher since graduating from Arizona State University in 1986. For the last 12 years I have been teaching Foreign Language (Japanese) and ESL in high school. Before that I taught elementary school, as well as ESL in Japan for 4 years.
My interest in aviation began when I was about 8 years old, and my father decided one day to buy a model of a P-38. He told me of growing up in AZ and watching the British airmen train at what is now Falcon Field, in Mesa, AZ. From that time on I became increasingly interested in military aviation, particularly WWII. I began flying lessons when I was 15, soloing at 16, and earning my private pilot's license a few days after my 17 th birthday.
I became interested in Flight Sims when my younger brother (a.k.a. Gunslinger) introduced me to “Red Baron” and “Aces over the Pacific” back in the early 90's. Although I had never had much of an interest in computers, I quickly realized that this was a way that I could continue “flying”, even though the budget constraints of raising 4 kids prevented me from doing the real thing. (My wife was always saying something about food and utilities being more important than flying….but what does she know!)
My association with Aces High officially began in March, 2004. “Gunslinger” had been hounding me for a couple of years to sign up, but it took suddenly finding myself with too much free time on my hands due to going on medical leave to make me finally take the time to sign up. So far it's been a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the other members of the squadron!
