Who Is "Pete"?

In the summer of 2002 I decided to open a new chapter in my life.  Following six years at Cornell studying electrical engineering and thirteen years in the Bay Area working on chip design, I quit my job at a high tech start-up in Silicon Valley and dedicated myself to aviation.  Why?  Because I love flying and I love teaching.  Chip design is interesting, challenging, and extremely cool (my friends say I'm a nerd?), but flying is magic.

Toward the end of 2004 I joined SkyWest Airlines and flew the CRJ200 passenger jet.  I loved flying the RJ, but I hated the lifestyle and missed the intellectual stimulation of flight instruction.  So, in September 2005 I quit SkyWest and returned to flight instruction at the world's best flying club, West Valley Flying Club.

I have a Commercial ASEL (Airplane Single Engine Land) and AMEL (multi-engine) Instrument Pilot's license.  I also have CFI (Certfied Flight Instructor), CFII (CFI-Instrument), and MEI (Multi Engine Instructor) ratings.  Somewhere along the way I also became a Cirrus Standarized Instructor and got ratings to fly (and instruct in) high performance, high altitude, complex, and tailwheel aircraft.

If you're really curious, this resume summarizes my experience in high tech and aviation as of 2005.

Who Would Marry This Man?

Pete's Wifey (Tanya aka Weetie) in a C5

Who Is Pete's Pet?

Here's Pete with Cleo "The Flying Puppy" at Sonora Pass

See Crazy Cleo in action (3.7MByte MPEG), finding a field to run in at Desolation Wilderness.

Who Is Pete's Baby Girl?

It's Zoe at T-Minus 8 Weeks!

Check out the ZoeCam,

Zoe's Pictures on Shutterfly,

the "Zoe's Arrival" video at YouTube:

Or, download the extended Director's Cut of "Zoe's Arrival".