OK, So who is this (smiling?) guy tearing apart these rebreathers anyhow?
Why, He's: DSutton@redstaraviation.org of course!
USA: 908.813.1398
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OK, So who is this (smiling?) guy tearing apart these rebreathers anyhow?
Why, He's: DSutton@redstaraviation.org of course! USA: 908.813.1398
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Who's the "Nut"? Well, here's the answer in a "Nutshell"!
I started Free-Diving in 1966, and was taught by my father who was one of the first generations of spearfishermen. After 8 years of freediving (a sport that I still participate in) I started SCUBA diving in 1974 with a YMCA certification course in which the certification dives were done offshore New Jersey on open-ocean wrecks. I began to work aboard the wreck-diving charter boat "Sea Lion" out of Brielle NJ for the late George Hoffman in 1975. Diving was always a addiction, and I took the opportunity to obtain a formal education in the subject, graduating from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1979 with a degree in Underwater Technology, and a Underwater Emergency Medical Technician certificate from the Undersea Medical Society (Now the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society). In September of 1979 I went to work for Santa Fe Engineering and Construction in Houma, Louisiana. For the first six months of my employment at Santa Fe, I worked to fabricate the high pressure life-support systems for the Cachalot 1500 Saturation Diving System and for the Mark-IV Bell-Bounce mixed gas diving system. In 1978 I took part in the integration and test of the Divex Arawak Push-Pull life support system for bell excursion diving. I soon found myself offshore engaged in deep surface supplied mixed-gas diving and saturation diving, and spent the better part of the next two years at sea. Following that, I had the unique opportunity to be employed by ITT Antarctic Services, a prime-contractor to the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP). I was lucky enough to spend two seasons in the Antarctic, and was awarded the United States Antarctica Service Medal for my participation. Returning to the USA, I found that the worldwide glut of oil had caused a severe downturn in US Offshore oil exploration. I decided to return to supporting sport-diving for a livelihood. I managed a large dive shop in New Jersey specializing in supporting wreck-divers for several years, and dived weekly aboard the Sea Lion, averaging 100 days of offshore wreck-diving yearly for 7+ years. During that time I also started teaching interested sport divers how to dive in the classic US Navy Mark-V deep-sea rig, and the group that I founded became the core of the Historical Diving Society USA Working Equipment Groups. Historical Diver Magazine is supposed to do an article on this shortly, and when they do I'll try to post a link to it.
TF-104G "Super Starfighter"The worlds fastest sportscar!
In 1990 I left the diving industry as a profession, to embark on a mid-life career change. I had been a private pilot for years, and took an opportunity to take a job flying a Beech King-Air C-90 as a corporate pilot. I have continued to fly as a corporate aviator since that time and have type ratings in the Lear Jet, Cessna Citation, Hawker 125, Gulfstream II/III, and the Dassault Falcon 50/900. In addition, I was one of the first to enter into the ex-Warsaw pact following dissolution of the USSR, and have imported, assembled, certified, and flown a number of surplus military aircraft from Russia and Czechoslovakia including the Yak-50, Yak-52, Yak-55, Zlin-126, Zlin 526, MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-21, and Antonov AN-2. I also bought some airplanes from the French Air-Force including 2 Max Holste Broussards and 13 Fouga Magisters, a beautiful little twin-engined jet trainer made famous by the Patrouille de France. In case you'd like to learn what it's like flying fast-jets, you can read just a sample of my aviation writing here in my humorous short-story "Flying the Fouga". In 1995 I bought an ex-Australian DeHavilland DH-115 'Vampire' jet fighter, restored it, and have now sold it and seen it return to Australia as a prized flying-museum aircraft. My present fleet consists of a French Broussard Bush-Plane, a Fouga, a MiG-17F jet fighter, a Bucker Jungmann aerobatic biplane, a Yak-50, and my latest project: a Lockheed TF-104G "Super Starfighter", the famous Mach 2.2+ "Missile with a Man", which I hope to be operating by next year. My present position is as an Instructor Pilot and Designated Examiner for the Dassault Falcon 50EX, a 3-engine executive jet manufactured in France which has the latest state-of-the-art systems and global range. In addition to that, I frequently work as a Contract Instructor at the United States Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River Md. I am a fairly well known aviation author, having been the Contributing Editor of EAA Warbirds Magazine for a few years, and having been published regularly in Flying and Flight Training magazines as well as in several other more technically oriented journals for test pilots and professional aviators.
My
favorite: A MiG-17F (Polish Manufactured LiM-5)
I am still active in both free-diving spearfishing and technical diving as hobbies. Since I am always looking for a "special something" that nobody makes, I have a small machine shop here where I make items of interest for myself and a close group of friends who need little goodies made for their rebreathers and technical diving systems. My involvement with Russian aerospace material procurement lead me to Russian diving equipment, and I have become very interested in converting their technology to sport-diving applications. I have befriended a group of Russian cave-divers who are exploring what may well be the worlds largest Karst formations, and am actively supporting their efforts with equipment and Western technical knowledge. They in turn have financed their activities by selling, through me, equipment that is surplus to their needs. I profit nothing from this, but am very pleased by my ability to assist them in funding their exploration efforts.
My memberships include: The Air Commando Association (Don't ask), The Experimental Aircraft Association, and the Historical Diving Society. I am also presently a member of the Board of Directors of the The Classic Jet Aircraft Association. Non-aviation and Non-diving memberships include the Porsche Club of America, the Ferrari Club of America, the Harley Owners Group, and the National Rifle Association (Life Member). I am a Fellow of the Explorers Club, and am very proud to have been sponsored to that membership by Dr. Bill Hamilton, a friend and colleague.
Well, in any case, that's who's tearing apart the rebreathers!
Dave Sutton