Virtual Fly-In
Come fly with us!
Welcome to our virtual fly-in! Take a glimspe of what our aviation alumns have got to say and what they've experienced.
Name: Aaron Heinrichs
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Delta Air Lines
What are you currently flying: Airbus A330.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington, to Paris, France.
What made it the coolest: Seeing Greenland in all its glory at dawn and having the Eiffel tower greet us on our arrival.
Best WWU memory: Wolfpack Hockey games and our loyal club members supporting us.
Longest flight as a pilot: 13 hours 36 mins
Which type of plane do you have the most hours: 3800 hours in 3 types: Airbus A330, Boeing B737, and Embraer E175 respectively.
Favorite flying memory: Flying to Port Hardy, British Columbia (YZT) to surprise my mother for Mother's Day weekend.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Airbus A330.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Where it all began at the Auburn Academy Airport.
Name: Amber Somma
Job Title: F/A-18 Pilot
Employer: US Navy
What are you currently flying: Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Navy Dare Bombing Range
What made it the coolest: This is where we get to practice our Air-Surface employments with both live and inert ordnance. Getting to fly low and fast is always an adrenaline rush.
Best WWU memory: I have multiple great memories of flights with friends up the Columbia River Gorge to simply build hours or visit family in Portland, Oregon. You can't beat some of those views!
Longest flight as a pilot: 5.3 hours on one tank of gas in a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye over Iraq.
Most hours in a single type: 1,070 hours in the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye.
Favorite flying memory: Participating in the 21 jet flyover in honor of former president Jimmy Carter.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Had some of the best views flying into Sigonella, Italy.
Name: Andrew Schrader
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Chevron
What are you currently flying: Gulfstream G650ER.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Teterboro, New Jersey, to Seoul, South Korea.
What made it the coolest: It was my first time in South Korea.
Best WWU memory: Getting to visit the Seattle Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Longest flight as a pilot: 13 hours 45 minutes.
Most hours in a single type: 1030 hours.
Favorite flying memory: Flying single pilot for Ameriflight.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Gulfstream G650ER.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Hong Kong International
Name: Anthony Remboldt
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Southwest Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Nashville, Tennessee, to Washington, DC.
What made it the coolest: Flying the river visual approach into DC.
Best WWU memory: Flying with friends to SoCal.
Longest flight as a pilot: 6.9 hours
Which type of plane do you have the most hours: Boeing 737
Favorite flying memory: Lots of good memories flying in Alaska - such a beautiful state, and flying with friends in the King Air.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Cub Crafters Cub.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Telluride, Colorado.
Name: Bo Rapozo
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: United Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Lihue, Hawaii, to Los Angeles, California.
What made it the coolest: Flying to or from Hawaii is always great, it's almost like a mini vacation.
Best WWU memory: Taking a trip up and down the West Coast as far south as San Diego and as far North as Friday Harbor, all in Walla Walla University’s Cessna 172, N20544.
Longest flight as a pilot: 6.5 hours
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Bombardier Q400.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Orofino, Idaho.
Name: Brad Milne
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington to Toronto, Canada.
What made it the coolest: I use to fly into Toronto as a child and it was one of the things that inspired me to become an airline pilot. Flying in as the pilot was a bucket list thing for me.
Best WWU memory: Meeting my wife during bed races.
Longest flight as a pilot: 6 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 1800 hours.
Favorite flying memory: Building night hours with Philip Glendrange over a two week period.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: North American T-6 Texan
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Nassau, Bahamas.
Name: Brandon McIntosh
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Bering Air
What are you currently flying: King Air 200 and Cessna 208 Caravan.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Cool is hard because I've been flying these routes for the last 15 years. Haven't had any unique charters this month. Coolest route ever? A 25-leg trip around Alaska.
What made it the coolest: It was cool because it's the most takeoffs and landings I’ve done in a day. I landed at every village on the upper YK Delta. Normally I only fly the Nome and Kotzebue region so something different is always welcome.
Best WWU memory: Longboarding Rooks Park to College Place.
Longest flight as a pilot: 9 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 8000ish in the Cessna 208 Caravan.
Favorite flying memory: Probably my favorite memory is any memory when I’m flying for fun and not work. The one that stands out the most is water skipping on Salmon Lake with one of my good friends.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Beriev Be-200.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Cape Lisburn, Alaska.
Name: Britt Balk
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Delta Air Lines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: I went into La Guardia and Kennedy several times all on the same trip.
What made it the coolest: The New York airspace is unique. Very busy, with several unique things to each airport. We have a few airports with extended visual segment approaches, and I did those more than once during the trip.
Best WWU memory: Road trips during the basketball season. Lots of great memories there.
Longest flight as a pilot: Right at 6 hours from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Anchorage, Alaska.
Most hours in a single type: 3500 in the Cessna Citation X.
Favorite flying memory: I got to fly my wife and kids this year on Christmas. It was the first time I have gotten to fly them on a plane while at work. On that same trip Loury Duffy was the Captain. It was a memorable day for sure.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Cessna Citation X
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Telluride Colorado; Canouan, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; or Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten.
Name: Bryan Mulder
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Anchorage, Alaska to Seattle, Washington day turns.
What made it the coolest: Sleeping in my own bed.
Best WWU memory: All the friends I made and still have to this day.
Longest flight as a pilot: 6 hours 39 minutes.
Most hours in a single type: 3361 hours in the Douglas DC6.
Favorite flying memory: Flying Portland to Boston with my wife Janet in the jumpseat of the Airbus and flying parallel to a long line of thunderstorms that treated us to a spectacular light show.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Douglas DC9. Douglas built great airplanes.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Flat, Alaska. Wiley Post crashed there in 1933.
Name: Cameron Libby
Job Title: Director of Marine Sales
Employer: Petro Marine Services
What are you currently flying: Cessna 170B.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: It’s been longer than a month. I usually fly summer trips from Anchorage, Alaska, to Dillingham, Alaska.
What made it the coolest: You get to see it all—mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers, sun, etc.
Best WWU memory: Playing Hockey, rollerhockey, and spring volleyball on the lawn.
Longest flight as a pilot: 4 hours
Favorite flying memory: Flying with my Grampa, dad, uncles, brother, cousins, and hopefully soon with my son, daughter, and nephews.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Cessna 185.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Hope, Alaska.
Name: Case Ketting
Job Title: Semi-retired
Employer: PSRT, PC
What are you currently flying: Twin Bonanza J-50.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Pasco, Washington, to Paso Robles, California, roundtrip.
What made it the coolest: It had tailwinds both ways; 3.5 hours one way! It's a fun flight.
Best WWU memory: Flying? Trying to spin a Cessna 152.
Longest flight as a pilot: 5 hours
Most hours in a single type: 1500 in single engine aircraft (mostly a Navion).
Favorite flying memory: Flying from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to the California coast with 2 fuel stops.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Twin Bonanza J-50.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Catalina Island, California, ... or maybe Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the EAA Airventure.
Name: Chris Guernsey
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: US Coast Guard
What are you currently flying: AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Landed on a glacier on Vancouver Island.
What made it the coolest: Literal ice.
Best WWU memory: Taking friends to Red Robin in the Cessna 172.
Longest flight as a pilot: 10.6 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 2000 hours in the Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk.
Favorite flying memory: My first rescue was a 5-year old autistic child lost in the sand dunes near Lake Michigan. Bringing him back to his family was a memory I’ll never forget.
Name: Christian Welch
Job Title: Helicopter Pilot
Employer: United States Coast Guard
What are you currently flying: The Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Got to land on Mona Island, Puerto Rico, to conduct some tropical land survival training.
What made it the coolest: They call Mona Island “the Galapagos of the Caribbean” because of the unique stuff that lives out there. It’s an uninhabited remote island covered with gorgeous reefs, interesting plants and animals, and massive caves with ancient petroglyphs.
Best WWU memory: Getting stuck overnight in the snow near Table Rock, Washington.
Favorite flying memory: One of my most defining flights was a long-range Bering Sea Search and Rescue case to rescue an electrocution victim from a fishing vessel at night in bad weather. After hoisting the survivor, we flew toward Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to conduct a medevac transfer. As we approached Dutch Harbor, the weather was less than 1/4 mile of visibility with heavy fog. We were fuel-critical with no divert options, and the best instrument approach required breaking out at 2,000 feet. Out of options, we executed a precision approach to the water just outside the harbor. Fighting severe spatial disorientation, we finally arrested our descent in a 50-foot hover but still had zero visual reference. We were low enough that the aircrewman could feel sea spray hitting his face in the open door, yet even under night vision goggles, the water was invisible. Trapped in a narrow channel surrounded by mountainous terrain, we used our terrain-mapping radar to air-taxi 2 miles at a snail’s pace of 4 knots. The cognitive load was extreme. For the first time in my career, I became so task-saturated that we had to split the flight controls: I flew the pedals and cyclic to maintain heading and airspeed, while the other pilot worked the collective to hold our altitude. After 30 minutes of white-knuckle hover-taxiing entirely on instruments, the runway lights finally peeked out of the fog at 0.1 miles. Putting the aircraft down on those numbers was the most profound feeling of relief I have ever experienced. Though this memory straddles a fine line between favorite and traumatic, I look back on it as a powerful testament to years of rigorous training and incredible crew coordination. I firmly believe God was looking out for us that night.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Adjuntas, Puerto Rico: It’s a small, short mountain runway on a steep ridge. Half the runway disappeared in a landslide a few years ago, and all that’s left is a partially-paved pinnacle in the mountains—perfect for a helicopter.
Name: Craig Cummings
Job Title: Captain
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: The Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington, to Honolulu, Hawaii, to Paine Field, Washington, back to Honolulu, then finishing in Seattle.
What made it the coolest: My wife was my flight attendant and I caught some waves on Waikiki.
Best WWU memory: The flight back to Walla Walla from my private pilot checkride in Pasco.
Longest flight as a pilot: 7.06 hours from Chicago to Anchorage.
Which type of plane do you have the most hours: 14,000 in the Boeing 737.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The North American Aviation Navion.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Orcas Island, Washington for light aircraft, and Telluride, Colorado, for airlines.
Name: Diego Molina
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Air Cargo Carriers
What are you currently flying: Short 360.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: San Juan, Puerto Rico to St. Lucia.
What made it the coolest: It has been my dream island to visit for a long time.
Best WWU memory: Watching the sunrise from the cockpit during an early morning training flight.
Favorite flying memory: Earning my private pilot certificate after all the hard work and training.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Pilatus PC-12.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Kamiah, Idaho.
Name: Eran Wilson
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: United Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 777
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: San Francisco, California, to Taipei, Taiwan.
What made it the coolest: Found a new dumpling spot in Taipei.
Best WWU memory: Building hours in WWU’s old Piper Arrow N323MQ
Longest flight as a pilot: 15.6 hours from San Francisco, California, to Hong Kong, China.
Most hours in a single type: Boeing 737
Favorite flying memory: Flying C-40's in the U.S. Naval Reserve, evacuating American service members and their families from the Persian Gulf region.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Beechcraft T-6A Texan II.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Subic Bay, Philippines.
Name: Gerald Wallace
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Portland, Oregon, to Kahului, Hawaii, and back again.
What made it the coolest: Flying to the most remote islands in the world, oceanic and ETOPs Operations, and beautiful scenery.
Best WWU memory: Getting engaged in one of the university airplanes.
Longest flight as a pilot: 7.5 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 5000 hours in the Boeing 737
Favorite flying memory: My senior project flying from Walla Walla to Orlando, Florida with Jon Ball.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Juneau, Alaska, or Lihue, Hawaii.
Name: Hailey Rice
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: NetJets
What are you currently flying: Phenom 300.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Flying into Walla Walla.
What made it the coolest: It’s where it all began!
Best WWU memory: Exploring the PNW by air.
Name: Isaiah Velasco
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Horizon Air
What are you currently flying: Embraer E175
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska.
What made it the coolest: The views over Alaska.
Best WWU memory: Flying with friends to get food.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: San Diego, California.
Name: Jameson Hilliard
Job Title: Director of Operations
Employer: Silverhawk Aviation
What are you currently flying: Citation Excel.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Savannah, Georgia, to St. John, Antigua.
What made it the coolest: Flying deep into the Caribbean.
Best WWU memory: Flying in multiple aircraft groups to air shows and camping.
Longest flight as a pilot: 5+ hours in a single leg, 12+ hours in a day.
Most hours in a single type: 2806 hours in the Cessna Citation 500 series.
Favorite flying memory: Too many to narrow it down to one. The best all involve sharing beautiful moments with another person … student, passenger, skydiver, etc.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Sky Arrow 600
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: A dirt strip in the mountains of Sonora, Mexico.
Name: Jason Kriegelstein
Job Title: Operations Administrator
Employer: Kettering Health
What are you currently flying: Nothing :(
Best WWU memory: Hanging out at the flight center talking about airplanes!
Most hours in a single type: Cessna 172 with 843 hours.
Favorite flying memory: I flew my Dad from Walla Walla to Dayton, Ohio, and back in WWU’s old Piper Arrow N323MQ. While in Dayton, I had the opportunity to fly the Wright Brothers Model B replica. Pretty amazing trip.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Wright "B" Flyer.
Name: Jeff Downs
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska, to Sitka to Juneau to Anchorage.
What made it the coolest: It is the southeast Alaska milk run that not only provides essential food and access to these remote communities but also was my ride home to Sitka each holiday and summer break.
Best WWU memory: Flying N1912T from Walla Walla to Klawock, Alaska with fuel stops in
Bellingham, Washington and Ketchikan, to assist my friend’s marriage proposal.
Longest flight as a pilot: 7.2 hours—Chicago, Illinois to Anchorage with a significant headwind.
Most hours in a single type: 3800 hours in the Boeing 737.
Favorite flying memory: Taking my wife and children on flights around Papua New Guinea where we served as missionaries for 5 years.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Pacific Aerospace PAC 750 XSTOL.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Aziana, Papua New Guinea, and any airport in southeast Alaska.
Name: Jon Rea
Job Title: Operations manager
Employer: Convergint
What are you currently flying: Own a Piper PA-28-161 Warrior II.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Catalina Island, California.
What made it the coolest: It’s an airport in the sky!
Best WWU memory: 1st solo in N7572B
Favorite flying memory: Flying my wife for the first time.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Don Dawes' Super Cub.
Name: Jonathan Ball
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: Delta Air Lines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 717
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: To be honest, my routes are not very interesting. The coolest route I have ever flown was when I flew a Challenger 604 from Reno, Nevada to Bitburg, Germany with a fuel stop in Keflavik, Iceland.
What made it the coolest: Flying over the arctic, it was daylight until we descended into Iceland. We landed at night, got fuel, and as we took off and climbed out, it was daylight again. I had not seen that before, and it was very cool.
Best WWU memory: There are many, but one that stands out to me is in 2009, Jerry Wallace and I flew from Walla Walla to Orlando, Florida for our senior project in the Piper Seminole. The round-trip logged 34.7 hours.
Longest flight as a pilot: 8.2 - Challenger 604 from Reno, Nevada, to Keflavik, Iceland.
Most hours in a single type: 2,061 in the Citation XL/XLS.
Favorite flying memory: One memory that comes to mind is when a charter company I was working for in California had a company dinner in Mammoth, California. We flew a Challenger 604 with 12 coworkers from San Luis Obispo, California, to Mammoth and my wife was able to come along on that trip.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Gulfstream G450
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: There have been many, but the top of my list would have to be Aspen, Colorado. Super technical, mountainous and really fun.
Name: Jon MacKenzie
Job Title: Chief Pilot
Employer: Pistol Creek Company
What are you currently flying: Falcon 900EX and Lear 35A.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington, to Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
What made it the coolest: It is a challenging visual approach to a short runway.
Best WWU memory: Flying log cross country flights with other flight students like Shawn
Deitrich and Chris Dickerson.
Longest flight as a pilot: 9 hours 22 minutes from Seattle, Washington, to London, England.
Most hours in a single type: 3,600 hours in the Learjet.
Favorite flying memory: I had a flight from Seattle to Farnborough, UK during the summer solstice. We departed Seattle late evening around 6 p.m. and because the jet stream was in the north that day our flight route was further north than normal. About two and a half hours after take-off the sun began to set, but it only started down, touched the horizon, and then went back up into the sky. So that day, for myself and the other pilot, the sun never set.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Falcon 900EX.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: It's hard to pick just one. Dubrovnik, Croatia; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Cannes, France would be my top 4.
Name: Jonathan Trautwein
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Portland, Oregon, to Spokane, Washington.
What made it the coolest: Good food in Portland then got to go home in Spokane!
Best WWU memory: Meeting my wife!
Longest flight as a pilot: Belize City, Belize, to Seattle in 7 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 2200 hours.
Favorite flying memory: Airplane camping at Electric City, Washington, with a bunch of the aviation majors.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The de Havilland Beaver!
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Juneau, Alaska.
Name: Julie Sanders Keymer
Job Title: Marketing
Employer: Self Employed
What are you currently flying: Not currently flying.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Coolest route I have flown was over the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
What made it the coolest: Looking down on the stadium!
Best WWU memory: Getting my pilot's license!
Longest flight as a pilot: 3 hours.
Favorite flying memory: Landing in Ryan Mowat’s Jet Ranger helicopter with Ryan and my husband, Marshall, in Larry & Terri Aamodt’s front yard!
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Bonanza J35.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Boeing Field
Name: Lawrence Hofmann
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome, Alaska.
What made it the coolest: Alaska is a beautiful state. Never gets old!
Best WWU memory: Aviation club camping trip to Grand Coulee Dam.
Longest flight as a pilot: 7.5 hours
Most hours in a single type: 3 hours
Favorite flying memory: Flying my girlfriend to Newport, Oregon, to propose. Mount Hood was amazing; fiancé even more amazing!
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Beech 1900.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Always challenging and fun!
Name: LeRoy Buell
Job Title: Captain/Check Pilot
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Anchorage, Alaska, to Adak, Alaska.
What made it the coolest: Adak is an island 1000 miles northwest of Hawaii in the Bering Sea.
Best WWU memory: Passing my Certified Flight Instructor checkride.
Longest flight as a pilot: Around 8 hours.
Which type of plane do you have the most hours: More than 10,000 hours in the Boeing 737
Favorite flying memory: Flying from Alaska to Washington with my Brother.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Grumman Goose or the Douglas DC-3. Hard to choose.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Kodiak, Alaska.
Name: Loury Duffy
Job Title: Captain
Employer: Delta Air Lines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Atlanta, Georgia, to San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico.
What made it the coolest: 24 hours in beautiful Mexico.
Best WWU memory: Flying my wife, April, to Seattle, Washington, on our first date in a Walla Walla University airplane (N1912T).
Longest flight as a pilot: 6.5 hours.
Most hours in a single type: 3100 in the Embraer E170/175
Favorite flying memory: Coasting into Africa on the jumpseat of a Boeing 747 on my way to a mission trip where I also met my wife.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Super Cub
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Panama City, Panama.
Name: Michael Stratte
Job Title: Captain
Employer: Delta Airlines
What are you currently flying: Airbus 320 family
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Seattle, Washington, to Lihue, Hawaii.
What made it the coolest: Flying across the open ocean to a beautiful destination feels surreal.
Best WWU memory: Seeing my future wife for the first time playing at a women's volleyball game.
Longest flight as a pilot: 11.8 hours (Honolulu, Hawaii, to New York city in a Boeing 767).
Favorite flying memory: Landing in the wheatfields around Walla Walla in the Sport Cub with Anthony Remboldt (with the Farmers permission, of course).
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Boeing 757 with the NBA Charter configuration. It had about 60 HUGE seats and tons of leg room!
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Spokane, Washington (home town!).
Name: Mishka Burnett
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Alaska Airlines
What are you currently flying: The Boeing 737.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Fairbanks to Anchorage
What made it the coolest: Flying by Denali.
Best WWU memory: Spin training in Marshall’s American Champion Citabria.
Longest flight as a pilot: 7.45 hours
Coolest plane you’ve flown: The Super Blanik L-23.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Adak, AK.
Name: Monty Wilmot
Job Title: Mechanical Engineer
Employer: RTX
What are you currently flying: Not current (The Cessna 152/172).
Best WWU memory: Flying the "long" cross-country (during training).
Favorite flying memory: Taking my brother for $100 ice cream (Fitchburg, Massachusetts-Jaffrey, New Hampshire).
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Ford Tri-Motor (sat right-seat and steared for a couple minutes; after assisting with repair).
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Martin Field, College Place!
Name: Patti Roberts
Job Title: Retired Air Traffic Controller
Employer: Federal Aviation Administration
What are you currently flying: Nothing now
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: No longer flying
What made it the coolest: Just these butterflies in my home town ;)
Best WWU memory: Learning to fly!
Favorite flying memory: Flying over to Pasco and walking to the mall!
Name: Philip Glendrange
Job Title: Captain
Employer: Envoy Airlines
What are you currently flying: Embraer E170/175.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Dallas, Texas, to Eglin Air Force Base.
What made it the coolest: Beautiful views of the Florida coast.
Best WWU memory: Flying from Walla Walla to Redlands, California, with other aviation majors.
Most hours in a single type: 2077 hours.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Pacific Aerospace PAC 750XL
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Aziana, Papua New Guinea.
Name: Ron Cardwell
Job Title: Pilot
Employer: Delta Air Lines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 757 and 767.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Los Angeles, California, to Mexico City, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
What made it the coolest: Departing empty out of LAX, we caught the attention of one of the YouTube streaming channels. Watching it later, it was really cool to watch myself departing in an airliner. Definitely a first!
Best WWU memory: Flying with multiple other WWU students in multiple airplanes from Walla Walla out to the Oregon coast and back. I think it was my last flight in a WWU airplane before leaving to start my career. Mount St. Helens was even steaming as we flew by!
Longest flight as a pilot: 10.8 hours
Most hours in a single type: 2563 in the Boeing 757 and 767.
Favorite flying memory: Completing the Washington Airport Passport program, with my wife, in 5 days of flying in my 1948 Stinson 108-3.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Boeing 757.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Copalis State, Washington.
Name: Scott Salsbery
Job Title: Certified Public Accountant
Employer: Peterson & Associates, P.S.
What are you currently flying: Piper Arrow.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Camas, Washington, to Paine Field, Washington.
What made it the coolest: Grandkids!
Best WWU memory: Friends
Name: Shawn Dietrich
Job Titles: Director of Operations / Chief Pilot / Associate Professor, Director of Aviation Program
Employer: Soma Jets / VAS Fire / Walla Walla University
What are you currently flying: Falcon 7X / Pilatus PC-12 / Cessna 172, Piper Arrow, Beechcraft Duchess.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Bentonville, Arkansas, to Georgetown, Grand Cayman.
What made it the coolest: I’ve never flown to Grand Cayman before.
Best WWU memory: Flying all over the country building time with other aviation students.
Most hours in a single type: 3000+ hours in the Pilatus PC-12.
Favorite flying memory: Taking my family with me on work trips at a previous job. It was like a paid vacation and was fun having my wife or one of my daughters sitting in the right seat.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: Provost Jet.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Flat, Alaska.
Name: Stephen McPherson
Job Title: Attorney / Naval Aviator
Employer: Law Firm / United States Navy
What are you currently flying: SH-60R Seahawk.
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Undisclosed operational route.
What made it the coolest: Unable to disclose.
Best WWU memory: Springtime on the Centennial Green and History Classes.
Longest flight as a pilot: A 10-hour operation.
Most hours in a single type: SH-60R Seahawk.
Favorite flying memory: Torpedo drop training and winning the best drop with my crew.
Coolest plane you’ve flown: SH-60R Seahawk.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Djibouti and Somalia.
Name: Theo Stream
Job Title: First Officer
Employer: United Airlines
What are you currently flying: Boeing 737
Coolest route you’ve flown this month: Denver, Colorado to Monterey, California.
What made it the coolest: It was the first 737 to land from Denver.
Best WWU memory: Flying down to Disneyland with some of our fellow classmates.
Coolest airport you’ve flown into: Telluride, Colorado.