Welcome New EAA 430 Member: John “Wally” Wallace

The reason I’ve joined EAA Chapter 430 is to find a potential aircraft ownership partner (s) in a light sport two seater. I currently fly a 1947 415 C/D Ercoupe at Shelton Flying Club. The club is considering selling it, but I am considering other options. I would like to find the club’s advice on a tricycle gear choice (could also be amphibious). I have co-owned a PA28 150 HP Cherokee with great success in the past.

I have about 4000 hours total time, but less than 400 as a single engine PIC. I started flying in college, but after an Air Force vision test, I was offered a rated navigator position as a WSO (Weapon Systems Officer) in the F4C Phantom. That part of my career was pretty short lived as my squadron was slated to change to the single seat F-15. I went back to school and became an HC-130 (Lockheed Hercules) Rescue Navigator for the Air Force Reserve. It was a great career that lasted over 25 years in various jobs and organizations.

After retiring from the Air Force in 2007, I took a job as a FEMA funded Emergency Management program manager. This was a great job working exciting issues with great people in Vancouver, Washington, but I was commuting almost every week to Olympia where my wife was working. I did this for about five years, but enough was enough … It was time to go back to school to return to aviation! I started Clover Park Technical College’s Aviation Maintenance Technician program (AMT) in the Fall of 2012. I was the OLDEST member, but almost half the class were veterans using the GI Bill. This two year program specializes in helicopter maintenance. I really enjoyed both the instructors and classmates. They really helped me understand basic mechanic principles that I had never been exposed to before. I was able to help out with aviation operations expertise and what the pilot knows about his aircraft and what “broke” looks like.

After graduation, there were the FAA written, oral, and practical tests. With both Airframe and Power-plant Ratings, I worked for a small Olympia aviation company. I was the Soloy Aviation Solutions Parts and STC (Supplemental Type Certificate) Representative. Soloy specialized in turbine conversions of various small helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. I did get to go to one AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin as an exhibitor. Unfortunately, the company descended on hard times and was sold in several pieces. I retired in 2018 and we’ve been traveling about. My wife found a home here in Sequim late last year and we moved in February.

This is my first EAA Chapter membership, but I’ve belonged to both the EAA and AOPA nationally for a while. I’m also a Wing member of the Washington Civil Air Patrol (CAP). I have a resume that I submitted to CAP that is available for anyone who might want it. I can best be reached via email at: star-teck@comcast.net. I hope I get to meet you all soon after the Coronavirus problem is solved.