Welcome New Member Robert Ball

In 1970 I was drafted and went kicking and screaming into the US Army where I became a helicopter mechanic and crew chief. Upon returning home, I used the GI Bill to attend college and flight school. My first jobs were flying for the oil field in Wyoming; then for a bit over a year, I flew for Pearson Aircraft in Port Angeles before moving on to fly contract for the BLM in Fairbanks AK. After that season was over, I moved on to fly in the Arctic out of Barrow until 1985 when I returned to Port Angeles to raise my family. In the fall of that year, I began my career at DHL, first flying the Metroliner, then moving on to the B-727, and finally the DC-8, where my career ended with a loss of medical. At retirement, I held an ATP with type ratings for the S -227, B-727 and the DC-8. I ended with approximately 20,000, with 13,000 hours of PIC in the larger jets.

My interest in aviation started as a young boy, building rubber powered models and free flight gliders. Over the years, I moved into radio control models and I am still building.

I’m married to a lovely woman and have two adult children and two grandchildren.