Michael is a Galesburg native and has been at the helm of the Stearman Restorers Association since 2016. He recently retired in 2019 from a 30-year military career as a Navy SEAL and Army special operations helicopter pilot. Mike’s first flight was at age 5, off the grass at Galesburg in the very Stearman he now owns. Coincidentally, that Stearman (“Navy 404”) is also the co-founding Stearman of the National Stearman Fly-In. He also owns a J-3 Cub, a Cessna 195, and the last known flying, R-1340 powered Stearman still in crop duster configuration. Michael now resides in Casa Grande, AZ with his wife. He is an active crop duster and owns an aerial application operation and Single Engine Air Tanker business flying on fires throughout the U.S.
