Getting to Know You: Dava McNutt

In 2008 Dava traveled to Oshkosh in a 1957 182A Cessna with a friend and a pair of crutches. The plan had been to take two planes but shortly before the date to leave for Oshkosh, her flying friend injured his knee (a story better left untold) so Dava became pilot in command, her friend in the right seat and the crutches stowed in the baggage compartment. Considering Dava had earned her private pilot’s license two years prior, in 2006, this was a great adventure for a novice pilot.

Dava grew up on a farm west of Fairchild Airport, at the end of Runway 8, where her parents owned land & a house. When her two brothers rode their motorcycles up and down the runway, Dava would tattle on them. In 1980 the airport needed more space and purchased the house and land from her parents.

Her first airplane ride was in her Uncle Ken’s Cessna 172 when she was six years old. Her parents sat in the seats and Dava was stowed in the back of the plane in the storage area. Through some small holes in the body of the plane, she saw flashes of light. She was excited about how fast the plane was moving, and although she had no idea where she was, she knew this was something she definitely wanted to do again.

She attended the University of Washington and received a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy in the School of Medicine in 1977. She did an internship at Madigan Medical. Her husband, John, her high school sweetheart since age 15, was attending the University at the same time and they got married in 1974 while still students. They moved back to Port Angeles in 1977 and Dava worked as a physical therapist at the Port Angeles School System and Crestwood Health and Rehabilitation for a year while she started her own practice, Maranatha Physical Therapy. During her 40 years as a physical therapist, she attained a specialty in Adult Orthopedic Manual Therapy, Adult Lymphedema Management (a 2-year course), Adult Pelvic Dysfunction (4-year course) and Vestibular Rehabilitation.

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“One of my patients wanted to pay his bill with his share of an aircraft, so I started flying lessons.” In 1979 Dava began her flying adventure at Fairchild. Just as she started ground school (required at the time before taking lessons in a plane) she found out she and her husband, John, were going to have their first child. She decided to postpone her lessons and it wasn’t until 2004, when her two sons were on their own, she decided to once again start her flying adventure. After she soloed, she received a scholarship from the Ninety-Nines to finish her lessons.

In 2006 she bought her first plane, a 182L Cessna 3419R. She received her IFR rating in 2009. John also has his pilot’s license.

When she met Bob Hicks, he encouraged her to join EAA to have even more fun spending time with like-minded pilots, so in 2007 she became a member. She flies Young Eagles on an individual basis. She is a member of Angel Flight and does blood runs for the organization. She is also a member of Women in Aviation, International. For two years she was an EAA volunteer at Arlington Northwest. She is a member of the West Sound Pilot Association, Washington Pilot’s Association and Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots .

Dava has flown Cessnas, a C206 Float and a Bonanza. She currently flies her C182L. She has her IFR rating and endorsements in Complex/High performance, High-Altitude, & Tailwheeler. She has attended Oshkosh Air Adventure.

She enjoys spending time with her family. Her husband was a Project Engineer for Washington State Department of Transportation prior to his retirement. Their oldest son, Seth, is a co-porate pilot based in Phoenix. Phillip, the youngest son is an electrical lineman living in Fresno. John & Dava have eight grandchildren.

Before her airplane became her priority hobby, she enjoyed riding her red Virago 500. At age thirteen, while in Junior High, she became a member of the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, playing the oboe for the next 28 years. She also played the alto sax in high school. While at the University, she played the oboe with various orchestras throughout the Seattle area .

There was one “scary” time she recalls while flying her Cessna on her way home after dropping off John in Olympia, where he was working with the Department of Transportation. Flying back to Port Angeles, the ceiling dropped and she could “see the eyeballs of the fish.” That was when she decided to get her IFR rating.

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She and John flew the Cessna to Prince George Canada to visit relatives. They taught as a team the Precept Upon Precept Ministry, a comprehensive, in-depth inductive Bible study series, to an Adult Bible class. They live on a farm in Port Angeles and lease land to a charity that rescues alpacas and llamas. They currently have 47 alpacas living on the farm. They farmed until 2004 when “the last cow left the farm.”

She enjoys mentoring young kids who are interested in becoming a pilot. On her bucket list; she would like to fly to Alaska to see the Northern lights. Her philosophy of life: “Make your life count.”