When I was 12 years old, I was lucky enough to ride on the FAA certification flight for the new Boeing 777. United was the launch customer, and employees/relatives were allowed on board for the flight. We took off from SFO, and then did a low altitude fly by of Boeing field. If that wasn't cool enough, I was invited up to the cockpit (it was 1995), and when the flight crew knew how amazed I was, the captain got up and let me sit down. 12 years old, sitting in the captains seat, in flight, on the worlds newest and most advanced airliner!! The rest is history.

I actually really wanted to be a military pilot. I liked movies like Independence Day and Air Force One (I had never seen Top Gun until about 2000!). I thought it would be amazing to fly an F-15 at Mach 2.5. Or being able to be a combat pilot. I started flying 30-40 times a year, and I really got into commercial aviation. I think when someone told me a 747 captain made over 300k, I knew what I wanted to do.