Newport native takes aviation to next level

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"Yeah, but I can survive a car crash."



He races airplanes.








Q: What sparked your interest in aviation?

A: My grandfather started an airplane museum in Chino in 1957. It was the first private airplane museum west of the Mississippi River. And it became a family business after that. My dad runs the museum and he also has a business that restores airplanes. My mom and my uncle both worked at the museum, so from the time I was born, I was surrounded by airplanes.

Q: How did you get your start in the sport of air racing?

A: My dad used to race. I was at the Air Races at 2 weeks old and I watched him race for years. My parents didn't force me to do it, I just loved it. My dad would sit me on his lap and I couldn't see over the dash, but he would just help me steer. I legally started flying when I was 15 and started working toward my pilot's license. The plane that I fly now is called Strega. It's a heavily modified North American P-51 Mustang, which was the World War II fighter. I started working on it as a crew member at 16 years old right near Bakersfield and I started flying P-51s when I was 19 years old. So, the owner and pilot of Strega was getting up in years and he had won the Air Races seven times over the course of 30 years. And it just kind of worked out. When he was ready to step out of the airplane, I was ready to begin racing. I lucked out.

Q: You watch other races with large fields, such as foot races or car races, and they bump each other a lot. But if you guys bump each other in the air, that's extremely dangerous. How do you approach these races without fear?

A: For the most part, if we hit or touch somebody, it's going to be catastrophic. It's in the back of your mind. But most guys that are up there are professional pilots. They've been doing this stuff for years, especially in the gold class. Most of the guys racing, I've probably been flying with them throughout the year. So there is a level of trust there.

Obviously, stuff can happen, but you just have to push it out. And safety is obviously paramount for all of us. There is a lot of mental preparation that goes into it and being predictable is the key thing. That's what we talk about among each other. But that doesn't mean that it's a horse-and-pony show. I'm out there to compete and win and other guys have the same mentality that we're going to go for it.

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