Overview

Mickey’s aviation career began in the U.S. Air Force as a student pilot in Undergraduate Pilot Training (Del Rio, Texas), followed by two instructor assignments in the T-37 “Tweet” Cessna jet as a flight instructor, check pilot, spin instructor, and navigator student instructor.

After attending the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson he earned a master’s degree in Flight and Navigation Control Systems, Mickey became a flight test engineer Eglin AFB. From there his extensive flying career continued in the Fairchild A-10 “Warthog.” During the course of his 20-year military career Mickey logged 3500 hours of jet time before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Mickey also has over three decades as a professional engineer and civilian single-engine and multi-engine aircraft pilot and is the owner and chief pilot of Aviation Specialists, Inc. in Gonzales, Louisiana. For 30 years Mickey has volunteered to serve in many leadership positions within the Louisiana Wing Civil Air Patrol, including Director of Emergency Services, Chief Check Pilot, Director of Operations, and Incident Commander directing damage assessment for Louisiana’s major hurricanes and floods.

He is also a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP) and specializes primarily in advanced Cirrus aircraft training. He is now the owner and manager of a Cirrus Training Center at LA Regional Airport in Gonzales. In total he has logged over 14,000 hours of flight time. In 2021 Mickey received the prestigious FAA’s Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” Award for over 50 years of professional aviation.