What do you want to be when you grow up?

Remember those questions when you were growing up? Your father or high school counselor (Merton Hoch)  may

North Kansas City High School

have asked. What do you plan to do after high school? Which college will you go to, what is your career goals? Well, I certainly didn't have a clue, and a career in helicopter aviation was the furthest thing from my thoughts. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest and it was a time of war in the 40's. Sure, I had some interest in aviation, but I wasn't looking that far down the road. I think every boy my age carried around a part from a B-17 model kit and a piece of sanding paper. My father had already joined the Navy and my mom worked in the North American bomber plant in Fairfax, Kansas building B-25 Billy Mitchell's. We saw those bombers frequently fly over our house when the wind was blowing from the Southwest and the planes would fly over on their final approach after completing a test flight. Every airplane in the sky got my attention and even today, I still look up in the Arizona skies to see the contrails of the jets making their way to California. So hope to share some of my journey and stories of my career in aviation.