The Aviation Bug

Chris Quick — The Corporate Pilot JourneyWith more than 30 years in corporate aviation, Captain Chris Quick has experienced a side of flying that most pilots only dream about.Throughout his remarkable career, Chris has flown some of the world’s most sophisticated business jets, including the Gulfstream IV, V, and G550, the Dassault Falcon 7X, the Bombardier Global 7500, and the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ). He also spent time in the airline world, flying the Boeing 737 for Aloha Airlines.With multiple type ratings and thousands of flight hours, Chris has built a career that extends far beyond the cockpit. He’s served...

Victor Earmalov grew up in Russia and pursued his dream of becoming a military aviator, eventually earning a position flying the legendary MiG-29 fighter for the Russian Air Force. Following reductions in the Russian military, Victor's aviation career took an unexpected turn. He traveled to the United States to pursue civilian pilot training, initially intending to further his aviation qualifications. While in America, Victor met the woman who would become his wife. That relationship ultimately helped shape his decision to remain in the United States, where he built a family and continued his aviation career. Today, Victor flies for...

Captain Jack Kennedy was born in a small town in Illinois, where his father passed down to him a love of flying that would shape the course of his life.

In 1964, at just 22 years old, Jack became an airline pilot for Trans World Airlines, beginning his career flying the legendary Lockheed Constellation. A mere five years later, he was a Boeing 707 captain for TWA, flying routes around the world during one of the most exciting periods in commercial aviation. He would later become one of the earliest Boeing 747 pilots, taking the controls of an...

Raised in an aviation family, Captain Brett Tillman has spent a lifetime immersed in the world of flying.

He began his career as a flight instructor before moving on to the regional airlines. In the late 1990s, he was hired by a major U.S. airline, beginning a career that would eventually place him in some of the most influential leadership positions in commercial aviation.

Over the years, Brett has served as a major airline captain, simulator instructor, line check pilot, and Chief Pilot. While many pilots spend their...

Drew Irmischer did what most pilots on the planet won’t get a chance to do and that’s fly the B2 stealth bomber.

Prior to that he flew the B1 B bomber

He was one of the first to drop weapons on the mountains of Afghanistan, post 9/11 terror attack in America.

This is an insight into a B2‘s lifestyle as well as the intricacies of the B2.

How does a guy who received an engineering degree end up in the Air Force flying B2‘s?

Climb into the cock...

What does it take to lead one of America’s largest private companies while maintaining a lifelong passion for aviation? Jimmy Hayes has spent much of his life answering that question.A graduate of the University of Georgia with a background in business and finance, Jimmy rose through the corporate world to become CEO of Cox Enterprises, one of the nation’s most recognized private companies.Although poor eyesight prevented him from pursuing a military aviation career, his love for flying never faded. He began flying at age 15 and, despite taking nearly a 20-year break during the height of his...

What is it really like to fly the world’s most dominant air superiority fighter?Patrick “ManBear” Williams is one of the few pilots who can answer that question from firsthand experience.Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Patrick’s aviation journey began in a taildragger aircraft. That early passion for flying never left him, and he still owns and flies a taildragger today.His career eventually led him into the U.S. Air Force, where he flew the F-15E Strike Eagle before transitioning to the legendary F-22 Raptor. Over more than a decade flying the Raptor, Patrick...

Alex “Lovey” Howell is a former U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet pilot, Top Gun graduate, airline captain, entrepreneur, and lifelong aviator whose passion for flying began almost before he could walk. Growing up in France, Italy, Africa, and the United States, Alex developed a global perspective and learned multiple languages while being immersed in diverse cultures around the world.

Aviation has been part of his life from the very beginning. His first flight took place in a small airplane while sitting beside his father in a child car seat, igniting a passion that woul...

From crop dusters to corporate jets, charter adventures to the FAA, Warren Smith has experienced nearly every corner of the aviation industry.

Growing up in Illinois, Warren’s first exposure to aviation came through agricultural flying. He eventually became an agricultural pilot and flight instructor, helping train future aviators—including The Aviation Bug host in 1985, making this conversation a reunion more than four decades in the making.

After his agricultural flying days, Warren transitioned into charter aviation before moving into corporate aviation, flying sophisticated aircraft for high-profile clients and gaining a firsthand look at a worl...