FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR & STEARMAN PILOT - DENNIS DOWNING

RATINGS: ATP, CFI, CFII, CFMEI, Single Engine Seaplane, Glider, A&P, and Senior parachute Rigger.

TYPE RATINGS: DC-3, Lockheed Lodestar, Metroliner, Brasilia and the CRJ.

Dennis has undergraduate degrees physics and math, has a masters degree in Nuclear Engineering and is a 1979 graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot school. He started flying in 1966 and has 17000 hours, with 6000 of them in tail draggers, and over 3000 skydives with 2 bronze medals and a silver medal from the US National Skydiving Championships.

He retired from the Air Force in 1990, spent the next 17 years as a line pilot and check airman for Comair Airlines, and then spent a couple of years working for DEI as the project engineer and test pilot for the T-44C simulator program.

He moved to Winter Haven in early 2011 and quickly found a great aviation home with Tailwheels, flying the Stearman and giving tail dragger instruction. In his spare time he is building a Midget Mustang and restoring a Thorp T-18 in his workshop at home, and plays some golf when he gets the chance.

Tailwheels Etc. is truly lucky to have a flight instructor of Dennis' experience level teaching their student pilots