John P. Chmiel: Airport Manager/FBO Manager/Flight Instructor
My philosophy is that flying is an art. The art of flight is something which must be purposefully honed with each opportunity. The journey in pursuit of artful flight is more gratifying than the destination of perfection. Perfecting the art of flight is as much a state of mind as the physical skills required for execution. This is something many pilots miss with the "connect a dot/paint by numbers" execution of flight and lack of "old school", stick & rudder smoothness skills. Perfecting the art of flight requires using all the senses to become one with the wing. Use your eyes on the outside visual references, your ears to hear the engine and the slipstream, your sense of touch to feel the stick/rudder pressures and the seat of the pants pressures. There are pilots and there are flyers. The pilot gets into an airplane and drives it, a flyer straps it on. The airplane becomes an extention of the flyer's being, an aerial prosthesis. This is what I try to convey to those I fly with. You can see more about what we do at Wausau Flying Service, Inc. at
http://www.flywausau.com
Aviation Experience: I am second generation aviation and pilot. My summers were spent in Wisconsin with my father when he worked at the Merrill and Rhinelander Airports. My mother said my first word was airplane, and my first memory is playing airport on my bed with a shoe box as a hangar and some plastic airplanes. I grew up in Hayward, California and got my first aviation job at the Hayward Airport (HWD) at Aviation Training, Inc. as an airplane washer sometime in 1979. My bicycle was my mode of transport and I rode it 7 miles each way most days during the week. For the next 5 years I worked there and other FBO's on the airport as a washer and fueler fantisizing that the FBO's and airplanes were mine. I took some flying lessons, but most of my flying skills were given to me by my father during the summers in his C-172. After high school graduation I earned a 4-year scholarship for aerospace engineering at Northrop University in Los Angeles. After 18 months I realized engineering wasn't doing it for me and that the FBO business and airports was where my heart really was.
In 1985, I moved to Rhinelander and got a job at Rhinelander Flying Service, Inc. where I worked my way up the ranks from part-time lineman, to Line Supervisor, marketing Director for Air Direct Charter, and Flight Instructor. I also got serious about flying and earned all my ratings while working and learning the FBO business at Rhinelander Flying Service. During this period I purchased a set of banners and started a part-time aerial advertising business serving Central Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan. In 1992, Wausau Airport needed an FBO and Manager. Angela (my future wife) and I convinced Charlie Turner (owner of R.F.S.) that we were capable of the job. The rest is history. I've been a pilot since 1988 and a CFI since 1992. I love flight instructing, especially in taildraggers.
Licenses & Ratings: Commercial Pilot, Airplane Single-Engine Land, Instrument Airplane, Certified Flight Instructor Airplane Single-Engine Land, Former Certified Weather Observer (NOAA), FAA Knowledge Exam Test Proctor,
Total Flight Time: 3,000+ Dual Given: 1,800+ Tailwheel: 1,350+
Memberships: National Association of Flight Instructors, AOPA, EAA, VAA, Cub Club, National Aeronca Association, Short-Snorters, SRA
Awards/Designations: Aviation Safety Counselor Mikwaukee FSDO, Master Flight Instructor (NAFI) 2000 - 2002, Pilot Proficiency Award Program Wings I, II, III, & IV
Favorite Airplanes: My wife and I currently own a 1942 Aeronca Chief . Anything taildragger and aircraft from the 1930's and '40's. It doesn't get better than a Stearman, or the New Standard D25.
Most Interesting Aviation Experience: There are many great aviation experiences in my memory, but one of the best is the day I soloed a Stearman for the first time (Thank you Glen Witter). Open cockpit on a hot summer day, the right combination of grass, exhaust, leather, dope & fabric in the air. They say that you are more likely to remember something if it is accompanied by an emotion, and if that's the case, I'll never forget it. Three trips around the patch, three less-than-perfect landings, one great flight!
Aviation/Career Goals: To be a great flight instructor. To earn sea-plane, and glider. To operate Wausau Flying Service, Inc. with my wife and kids until retirement.
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