With a long family tradition of Military service, it was not surprising to anyone that Robbie enlisted in the Marines before he graduated high school.

As a child he dreamed of flying, and flying to Robbie meant aerobatics. There has not been a moment in his life that this dream was not burning inside of him. At the age of 15, he walked to the local airport and started asking about how he would be able to get his license. The owner of the small FBO persuaded the young man to begin with his first lesson that day. That flight, which lasted less than an hour (his first time in an airplane) sealed the young mans fate for life.

Robbie worked two, sometimes three jobs while attending high school just to be able to fly. Soloing at the age of 16, he received his Private license on his 17th birthday. With little chance of attending college at the time, he enlisted in the Marines and headed to boot camp a week after graduating high school.

Within 10 years of service in the Marines, Robbie reached the rank of Sergeant while continuing to add to his pilot license and ratings while he was not deployed. Not an easy task considering that, while in a Tactical unit, he averaged 160 days a year in the field, with multiple assignments overseas and volunteering to serve in the Gulf War. The unit where he was assigned was the forward most deployed American unit on the Saudi/ Kuwait border. Robbie, a Weapons controller, was one of the Marines directing tactical air into the Kuwaiti area of operation during the war.  

His Commercial and Instrument ratings in hand, and having passed his Flight Instructor written, he had also accumulated 1000hrs flight time before he left the Marine Corps. At the end of the Gulf War, he felt it was time to continue his dream of a career in aviation, so he chose not to reenlist.

Eventually, Robbie worked his way up from flight instructing to corporate flying, the commuter airlines, to a job at ATA where as a first officer on the L1011, he flew world wide Military and civilian scheduled service and charter for 10 yrs. With the down turn of  the airline industry ATA closed its doors, so he returned to corporate flying. He has been working at Gateway Aviation in Phoenix AZ, flying Single Pilot in a Citation Ultra. Qualified in Multiple a/c. he has amassed over 12000 hrs total time, with 2400hrs Tailwheel and 1400hrs in aerobatic a/c. He has type ratings in the Jetstream 32, Citation 500 series, Boeing 737 and L1011 sic. Robbie remains a Gold seal Flight Instructor and qualified instrument and multiengine instructor. He also gives instruction in aerobatics and unusual attitude training. An Aerobatic judge, he often coaches and critiques others.

While at ATA he moved to Arizona to continue his dream of flying aerobatics. For the last 12 yrs he has been competing in aerobatic competitions throughout the nation. He has won many contests at the Advanced level against some of the best competition pilots in our country. In his Extra 230 he has been the Arizona and California State Champion in the Advanced Category, and the Southwest Regional champion. At the National Championships, Robbie finished 4th in 2005 and 2006, 5th in 2007, 2nd in the freestyle flight in 2008, and won the 2nd Unknown flight in the 2009. Robbie represented our country in the 2006 AWAC and looks forward to competing again in the 2010 AWAC.