Martha is the daughter of a U.S. Air Force pilot. She grew up in various places around the world with the most time spent in Dayton, Ohio where her father was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Although her father was a pilot, neither Martha nor her father could ever have imagined that she would become a pilot. Martha’s interests were in the arts and literature.
Anyone who knew Martha knew that she is a very competent, strong person. When Martha’s father told John that she was the most stubborn person he had ever known, John’s answer was, “I already know that. I prefer to think of it as extraordinary determination.”
When, against everyone’s advice and better judgment, Martha, at the age of 19, married John, they agreed to be equal partners in everything they did. They started their first business together while still in college. As soon as possible, they bought an airplane, a Cherokee. Martha, never one to be left behind, learned to fly along with John.
Martha’s love of learning and flying manifested itself as she and John used every opportunity to learn about flying. She consequently became the first woman to hold every category and class on her pilot and instructor certificates. Through her personable video instruction Martha has come to be considered their own aviation mentor by hundreds of thousands of pilots. Her father would have been stunned.
