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| Tailwind Foundation Hall of Fame |
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Fay Gibbons (Contributors: Chip and Becca Gibbons).
Fay doesn't fly anymore and hasn't in years, but he was instrumental in my taking flying lessons. He motivated me and encouraged
my interest in airplanes from an early age, and always made me feel like I was the best pilot ever - even when I had to sit on three pillows to see over the panel.
Dad stopped being active in aviation when he lost his medical, but he never lost his love for flying. When I turned
sixteen he suggested I take flying lessons. He offered to pay for one-half of my training if I'd pay the remainder. I got my license three months later, just barely seventeen.
My father was waiting for me at the airport when I got back from my check ride, and he was my first passenger.
Becca and I have contributed to the Tailwind Foundation in his name because he provided the motivation, incentive, and the means for a young person to become
a pilot. He contributed to aviation then, and still does today with his financial support of the Tailwind Foundation.
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James Crowell (Contributors: Chip and Becca Gibbons).
Jim Crowell was my father-in-law. Aviation was a huge part of Jim's life and he flew as a CFI, a corporate pilot, and as a Captain for Frontier Airlines.
I met Jim in 1975 when I started dating his daughter and the topic of flying was always a common interest for us. Jim's wife, Faye, always says that for Jim flying wasn't just a vocation, it was an avocation. She couldn't be more correct.
I married Jim's daughter, Becca, in college. As a college student and, later, as a new member of the American work force,
I didn't have the money or the time to fly. I drifted away from aviation for several years until Jim put me in the left seat of
his Tri-Pacer and told me to take him flying. The time he spent with me reinforced my love for flying and gave me a sense of self confidence as a pilot.
Becca and I have contributed to the Tailwind Foundation in his name because he provided opportunity, encouragement, and means for a young pilot to exercise the privilege of my certificate.
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