Personal Introduction

Hello everybody! 

My name is Kevin Simpson.  I am a flight technology major working on the last couple of flights in the commercial syllabus at Eagle Flight Center.  If life stays on track, I will be graduating in May of 2016.  

I have been interested in aviation as long as I can remember.  My grandfather was one of the first people in Michigan to solo at the age of 16 after that FAR was passed, and owned his own plane and business ever since.  I remember flying in his light twin when I was as young as 4 years old, not being able to see over the panel.  Due to poor life decisions, I never had the money to start flying on my own and I enlisted in the Air Force directly out of high school.  I spent 6 years as an Airborne Cryptologic Arabic Language Analyst and Airborne Tactical Systems Operator.  I was fortunate enough to gain 700 hours of combat flight time as an enlisted air crew member before getting out and putting my GI bill to work for me.  Eastern Michigan University was located perfectly between my original hometown and that of my wife's, and they had an aviation program that was GI bill qualified, so it was absolutely the best choice available to get myself and my family where we wanted to go.

After graduation, my first choice for the future is to commission in the Air National Guard as an F-22 pilot.  They tell me there are spots available in Hawaii and Virginia, and I'd be willing to go to either location without question.  Not only is the F-22 just flat out awesome, I have a mindset that matches the mission that it is designed to fulfill.  I do, however, have a feeling that it's not going to work out for me due to my having ocular hypertension.  The liquid in my eyeballs has a pressure that far exceeds the range of normal humans, and therefore I have a high probability of having glaucoma at a young age.  The Air Force does not currently have a waiver for this condition, even if controlled by medication because there aren't significant long term studies on people with this condition in a high altitude setting.  Therefore, my back up plan is to gain some time instructing here at Eagle Flight Center or possibly at another airport like New Hudson or Howell.  Once I have the hours and other qualifications necessary, I'd like to be picked up for a job flying King Air's or small business jets in the corporate aviation sector.  I believe the relatively higher amount of down time, along with relatively higher initial salaries, would benefit my family more so than that of the regional airlines.  When I retire, I would absolutely love doing acrobatic or old barnstorming air shows similar to those performed by Dewey Davenport, our future guest speaker.

I'm excitedly looking forward to his night to speak.  I believe that's a niche in the aviation world that is exciting and very often overlooked, especially from the viewpoint of someone who is looking for a paying career in aviation.