ATTITUDE DETERMINES ALTITUDE:
JOE’S PILOT PATH

My father and grandfather were fighter pilots in the Air Force. Some kids grew up reading Dr. Seuss… I grew up reading the tales and exploits of my military heroes. Equal only to flying was my father’s love of trout fishing. His passion for the outdoors was instilled in me at an early age, and I voraciously read every article in sporting magazines and books, dreaming of an adventurous life. As I grew older, I realized that a common thread in many hunting and fishing stories were names like Piper, Cessna, and DeHavilland. Raised in a military family, I was now exposed to a different type of flying and a new list of heroes—the bush pilots. This became my dream.

As John Denver sings in “Rocky Mountain High,” I was reborn in the summer of my twenty-seventh year when I moved to Idaho in 1996. In 1999 I obtained my real estate license, focusing on recreational farm and ranch properties and new-construction residential development. As my business grew, I was able to transform my dream of flying into reality—earning my private pilot license in 2007, followed by my instrument, commercial, and seaplane ratings in 2011.

A chance opportunity in 2009 made me the proud owner of a 1961 Cessna 185 we call Big Red. Big Red, my best friend and bride Holly, and our pack of bird dogs have since chased fish and game all over the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Alaska.

When I was first exposed to flying, the airplane itself was the coolest part. When I purchased Big Red, it became about the places you can go and the adventures waiting out there. Now, with close to 3,000 hours in 185s and Cubs, I’ve realized that the very best part of aviation is the people you meet in this remarkable community.