John King, Contributing Editor

FLYING Staff

Monday, December 20, 2010 at 01:35 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

John developed an early passion for flying, inspired by his pilot father, but temporarily paused his own flying lessons at age 16 due to financial concerns.
He married Martha, who became his flying partner; they learned to fly together and consistently used general aviation aircraft for personal transportation.
After an initial business failure, they pivoted to teaching ground schools, where John's video instruction helped hundreds of thousands of pilots achieve their dreams.

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John is the son of a country gas station and restaurant owner and private pilot, who for a while owned an Aeronca 7AC Champion. When at the age 6 of John first flew with his father, he knew immediately that flying was something he was going to do.

In 1960 at the age of 16, John started learning to fly in another Aeronca Champion and soloed. He soon felt guilty about spending the money to fly. Concerned about saving up money for college, he set flying aside.