Gary Sobek has been flying since 1981. He has been an FFI Flight Lead since July 2000. His RV-6 has been in formation north of the Arctic Circle over Fort Yukon, Alaska and in a flight of RVs to and from the Bahamas. He has flown in RV Formations at AirVenture 4 of the past 5 years. He has flown as a wingman in Falcon Flight at Golden West 2004 and Boulder City 2005 plus in large RV formations at the Nellis Air Show 2005. Gary has provided support as a Formation Instructor Pilot the past four years at the pre-AirVenture RV Formation Clinics, at the first West Coast Formation Clinic in May 2005, the Northwest Formation Clinic June 2006, and the Southwest Formation Clinic October 2006. Gary is employed as an Engineer / Scientist with the Boeing Company and is an Amateur Built DAR in his spare time when not formation flying.
Brad Sharp spent 30 years as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force, including three combat tours in Southeast Asia, air combat, and one shoot-down. Brad retired as Colonel. He is now married and has a son and two daughters. Brad's son was a Wild Weasel in Operation Desert Storm. Brad has been flying for 54 years and, according to him, "still haven't got the hang of it." Modest guy!
Scott Farner earned his private pilot's license in 2003. After having spent way too much time watching the TV show "A Plane Is Born" in college, he started building his RV-7A in early 2005 in his parents' garage and finished in October of 2006 at Chino, CA. He soon began formation flying under the instruction of Dan Checkoway and enjoys the challenges and rewards involved. Scott earned his FFI Wingman card before participating in the 35-ship RV formation at AirVenture 2007. Scott is now an FFI Flight Lead, and he works as an engineer for the Boeing Company.
Mark DuLaney (callsign-DULA-) is flying an RV-6A, white with Maroon and Blue striping. The aircraft was built in 1998 and purchased by Mark and his wife Pat in June 2000. Since then they have accumulated about 600 hours flying to numerous destinations including EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, WI. Mark soloed when he was 16 years old and earned his wings with the US Air Force in 1974. He accumulated 4000 hours in the T-38, F-4, F-5 and F-16 and retired from the Air Force after serving as the Aggressor Squadron Commander at Nellis AFB from 1991-1993. Currently, Mark is a Captain with Southwest Airlines and has accumulated over 14,000 hours total flying time.
In Memorium "Em" – Emmanuelle Richard 1973 - 2010
Tragically "Em" passed away on April 20th 2010, her passing has rippled with sadness through the Formation and Aviation communities. She was our colleague and our friend. To have flown formation with Em was to be blessed by her coolness and her skill. We all just miss our friend.
Rest in peace sweet Emmanuelle!
Graduate, US Air Force Academy, 1964
Retired USAF Colonel: Flew T-37, T-33, T-38, F-4C/D/E/G, O-2A
Owner: RV-3, N74TX, 830hrs; Builder/Owner: RV-8, N78TX, 950hrs
Founder/Leader, Falcon Flight Formation Demo Team
--Numerous airshows around the country, 1994-present
Founder/Administrator/Check Pilot, Formation Flying, Inc (FFI)
Presenter of numerous Formation Clinics around the country
Bryan Duke began flying at age 10 and is now a USAF fighter pilot and avid general aviation enthusiast. He and his wife Tanya previously owned a VariEze, which they modified and raced from 1996 to 2000. They bought their RV-6 in 2004. Bryan has flown over 60 types of civilian and military aircraft. In the USAF, Bryan has earned the Distinguished Graduate or "Top Gun" award from every flying training course he has attended. He served flying the F-15C in the opening months of Operation Iraqi Freedom and later became an instructor pilot in both the F-15C and F-16. Bryan is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School and is assigned to Edwards AFB. Bryan is also developing a homemade EFIS system for their RV-6 to finish out their glass cockpit upgrade.
"Hog" – Dave Klages
David Klages is an FFI Wingman. He began flying in 1973 and
holds a Commercial Single-Engine Land
license with an Instrument rating.
He has owned a Cessna 172, Cessna 210,
and a Cessna 180, which he flew for
16 years. He began building his RV-8
in August of 1999, and made the first
flight in August of 2001. Gary Sobek
was his technical counselor. His wife
referred to him as "Sky Pig," but
fellow RV and formation pilot friend
Paul Rosales said that Sky Pig was too
long, then suggested his call sign: "Hog".
Dave is an architect and owned his firm
for 32 years before merging with RNL
International in 2000. His work has
been primarily international for the
past 20+ years, and he is in the
process of "pulling back" so he can
spend more time with his wife, flying,
and at his hangar at Chino, California.
Mike is a retired USAF Colonel. He has been flying as a pilot for 42+ years. He flew numerous Air Force trainers and mostly ground attack fighters – T-37, T-38, T-39, F-5A&B, A-1E,G,H,&J, A-37, and A-7D. Mike instructed in most of them and has about 2000 hours of instructor time. He flew 138 combat missions in Southeast Asia, mostly supporting the CIA's "Secret War" in Laos. He has flown 37 different models of aircraft and has a total time of nearly 5,000 hours. Mike is also a multi-engineer with degrees in Mechanical, Electronics, Chemical, and Aerospace with an MS from UCLA. He was a senior flight test engineer at Edwards AFB, CA on the A-10 & F-15 doing a lot of "chase". Mike was the Director of Engineering in charge of Integration and Flight testing the Peacekeeper ICBM flown out of Vandenberg AFB, CA and the Director of Engineering at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH prior to retirement. Mike's RV-7A is the second experimental he built. It was FAA certified for flight January 26, 2006. His first one was a KR-2 that he has been flying since 1983.
An accomplished skydiver, pilot, and aircraft builder, Joe is flying the RV-6 he finished in 2004. Construction took 4 years, and the plane now has over 700 hours on it. Those who fly with Joe always comment on the killer Pioneer/Bose sound system he installed. Joe is an employee of Van's Aircraft, maker of the kits from which RVs are built, and he lives on an airpark near the Van's Aircraft HQ. He has been flying since the early 80's and is an active member of the of the Portland area 'Van's Air Force-Home Wing' & 'West Coast Ravens' formation groups. Joe is an FFI Flight Lead, and also participated in the record-setting 35-ship and 37-ship RV formations at AirVenture in 2007 and 2009.
Jim Percy has been a Private Pilot since 1978 and now holds an Instrument Rating. After spending four years building his RV-7A, JP piloted it on its maiden flight in early 2007. His first exposure to formation flying occurred years ago in a flight of two Cessna 152s, when his flight instructor joined up with another instructor and student during a flight lesson. Now an FFI Wingman, JP began training in the art of formation flying shortly after he began flying his RV, and he loves the challenge involved.
David Richardson finally earned his pilots license in the mid 70’s after a few thousand hours of ultra light and hang glider time and wanting something “a lot faster” . After 5 years of construction David flew his RV-7 in August of 2008 and racked up 340 hours of flight time in the first year including a cross country trip From Los Angeles to Kitty Hawk. Soon after completion David started formation flying under the tutelage of Dan Checkoway. David attended the West Coast Formation Clinic in 2009. Professionally David is a Television Specialist for the State of California Assigned to the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger where he produces live webcasts world wide. David is a FFI wingman.
David Leonard earned his Private Pilot's license in 1997 while attending Navy Flight Surgery School in Pensacola, FL (now a Navy Anesthesiologist). He has over 500 hours flying time with Instrument and Multi-Engine endorsements. As a flight surgeon he has accumulated training time in the F-5, P-3, and TH-57 helicopter, as well as formation time in the T-34C and the F/A-18. David now flies the RV-6 he built over a 5 year period. His RV-6 is unusual in that is powered by a Wankel rotary engine. This is where he gets the call sign "Rodoc." You may notice the different sound it makes. Rodoc is an FFI Wingman.
Paul Rosales, the son of a Private Pilot / A&P, grew up in the aviation-rich Antelope Valley, California, and he completed his Private Pilot training in 1979. For the next 21 years, he along with wife Victoria, rented aircraft and accumulated 350 hours total time. They started building their own, custom RV-6A aircraft in 1995 with first flight in the summer of 2000. Since then, they've flown their plane over 3100 hours to 49 States in America and 5 foreign countries: Bahamas, Canada, Cayman Islands, Mexico and The Turks & Caicos. When not flying, Paul works as a Systems Engineer for Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and occasionally as a substitute school teacher (grades K-5). Their plane is hangared in Southern California at the Rosamond Skypark (L00), located west of Edwards AFB. Paul earned his FFI wingman card in 2002.
Trish "SchoolMom" Russell spent many hours pretending to fly her father's airplanes growing up while sitting in the back seat flying around the country. She didn't get her pilot's license until she was in her mid-30s in 1996. She now has an instrument rating and experience in many single engine airplanes including warbirds and biplanes. The RV-6A she flies in formation is, by far, her favorite airplane. It will do it all, fly cross-country, aerobatics, and formation. Trish finds formation flight fun, but challenging. It keeps her flying skills at their peak. During the week Trish teaches first grade in Running Springs, California. Many of her students become Young Eagles, giving Trish the chance to share her flying passion with her students.
Flying the only RV-3 in the group, Randy is a two-time RV builder. His RV-3B is his most recent plane and was built specifically with formation flying in mind. Hailing from the Portland, OR area, Randy was introduced to formation flying by Gary Sobek and has been active with the local Portland group ever since. In 2006 Randy was co-organizer of the Northwest Formation Clinic in Redmond, OR and helped with new pilot training at several other west coast clinics. Randy is an FFI Wingman. Very active in the EAA, Randy is a Technical Counselor, Flight Advisor, and is currently President of EAA Chapter 105 in Portland, OR.
Tooth earned his Private Pilot certification in 2003. He quickly earned an Instrument Rating and began building his RV-7, urged on by his brother who finished his RV-6 eight years before. Since every other pilot he knew in Southern California was formation flying, and because it looked so cool, he sought out Dan Checkoway for a safe introduction to find out what it was all about. Having become hooked he began training, which included the SWFC 2006 and numerous organized practices. Tooth is an FFI Wingman.
Brad took his first airplane ride with his father in 1968. In 1978, at age 17, he earned his pilot's certificate. Two months later he got his driver's license. Over the years, Brad has flown formation in several classic & experimental aircraft and chose the RV-4 as the ultimate formation machine. In 2000 Brad completed and first flew his RV-4. From 50mph to well over 200mph, the RV-4 is completely maneuverable and a joy to fly. Brad is an FFI Wingman.