Joey ritchie

I started my interest in aviation back in elementary school while talking to my Uncle who was a WW2 vet flying F4U Corsairs. I was interested in model airplanes, balsa kits and later u-control airplanes, but realized that I really wanted to fly myself. My first intro flights were in high school and later in college I took a few flying lessons before the funds ran out, but the aviation bug was firmly planted. I later joined the Navy and went through flight school in Pensacola FL and later joined an F-14 Tomcat squadron and flew off the USS Nimitz. My aviation career then turned towards engineering and I earned a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering at VA Tech while I was an NROTC instructor there. From the Navy, I went to work for Lockheed Engineering at NASA Langley doing aero research. Now I’m in commercial construction and fly for business and recreation and am a part owner in a Diamond DA40 and fly out of Williamsburg. I joined the board for WASP 4 years ago and enjoy giving students a chance to get into the aviation world through learning to fly and having another outlet to talk all things flying.