I just wanted to let all my friends at Cutter Aviation know that I am retiring from professional flying. Appropriately, I finished my last flight, arriving at Cutter in an Eclipse the night of February 2, 2019.

I have been a licensed pilot for 64 years and have flown in the military and as a professional pilot for 59 years, and now it’s time that I spend a little more time with my wife of 59 years. It’s been a “great ride,” because I love flying, and because of all the great people I have known and worked with in aviation.

In particular, I want you and all the employees at Cutter to know how much I appreciate your professionalism and friendship. Please pass on my personal thanks for their making my time in aviation in Albuquerque most enjoyable. As the saying goes, they have made “the worst day of flying better than the best day of real work.”

While I’m retiring from professional flying, I will not be gone. You will still see me around the airport in my Mooney!

I wanted to write you and tell you thank you. My father and I flew down to Albuquerque yesterday in a red and white Cessna 182. Your staff treated us like we were flying something much larger and more expensive. We didn't need much fuel, but they still treated us very well. A friend of mine said you can always tell the character of an FBO by how they treat the little guys. By that definition, your team showed amazing character. From the line staff literally rolling out the red carpet when we landed to the front desk staff recommending a very good local restaurant, your staff is top notch. Thank you so much for your hospitality, and I will definitely be back.

I just wanted to thank you for taking such great care of me when I was there last Thursday night with my Mooney, with an electrical maintenance issue. The way you were "on it" with all the information and help I needed to allow me to figure out what to do was awesome. The guys at Bode were great and found the problem promptly and professionally. It turned out I made the wrong call on the callout because no parts were needed and it turned out to be just a loose ground wire. But, it certainly could have been much worse, so all in all, I could sleep well knowing that everything would be good to go in the morning. I continued my flight to Vegas and the return back to South Carolina without incident.

Anyway, I appreciate you and your team. I’m leaving a review on the AOPA airports website and Facebook. I will also recommend Cutter as a nice stop for anyone I know making the trip West.

Thank you again and please let everyone know I appreciated all they did to help.