Get to know our team! #20thAnniversaryAddition
As we continues to celebrate CollabraSpace’s 20th Anniversary, we want to take time to highlight members of our team! This spotlight series focuses on our teams many passions outside of work. Our first team member spotlight is Mike D., who is passionate about aviation and piloting. Here is what Mike has to say:
“Learning is something I’m always doing. Be it picking up Vue.js and Angular for work, attending seminars on DevOps, getting a certificate on MongoDB, or figuring out how to use Docker and Kubernetes. Outside my job, about 10 years ago, I decided to learn something I had always thought about: flying a plane. Not only is there joy in flying and seeing the beautiful Chesapeake Bay from the air, but there is the fellowship of being part of a community of pilots and aviation enthusiasts.
I earned my private pilot certificate, which allows me to fly various types of airplanes as the pilot in command. I’ve also gotten an instrument rating that allows me to fly in clouds solely by reference to instruments in the plane. I fly general aviation planes that can carry up to four people and fly about 120 mph for distances up to 300 miles in a single leg. I’ve flown about 700 hours as a pilot, and am currently working on a commercial certificate that allows me to be paid for flying for others.
I fly from Bay Bridge airport, which is just south of the Bay Bridge as it comes to Kent Island. I volunteer by teaching Scouts about aviation, give kids their first airplane ride, work the registration desk for various pilot seminars, and fly holly and gifts to Tangier Island, VA during the yearly Tangier Island Holly Run.
Flying is one of those fields, where there’s always something new to do. It could be a new certificate (gliders, tailwheel planes, more complex aircraft). There are always opportunities to visit with pilots and volunteer for flying activities. While I love programming, flying is great fun and there’s nothing more satisfying than safely landing after successful flight.”
