John Hawkins Interview, December 2021

I’m excited to have interviewed John Hawkins as part of this project. John Hawkins came to the airport in August of 2021 looking for a place to paraglide. John stated in the interview that “it’s hard to find a good place to fly, luckily the people at the airport [JGG] have been fantastic”. Like the interview I had with Cris Simmons [coming soon], I learned?a lot about the differences between going into the military to fly and flying for commercial airlines.?

-- Start Interview --?

How long have you been a pilot??

In 1978, at 22 years old, John Hawkins started pilot training for the USAF. “For 12 years I flew for the Air Force, flying the T-37, T-38, F-4, F-5 and F-16 as an ‘Agressor’ (an Air Force squadron that pretends to be the bad guys for training). After those 12 years, I wanted to continue to fly, but for commercial airlines.” John flew for the airlines for 31 years, first with Northwest Airlines and then Delta. His commercial aircraft experience includes the DC-9, Boeing-727, DC10, B757, with Captain experience in the Airbus-320, B767 and A330. In total John has been a pilot for 43 years and today he is at JGG doing a different kind of flying: paragliding.?

How did you get into flying; what has it meant to you??

“Ever since I was little, I loved airplanes. I lived in a town with a navy training base, so I always saw planes flying and I just loved it”, emphasized John. “Flying makes me happy, no matter where or what kind. The Air Force was flying a lot of cool planes, but I left before I had to go into a desk job, and instead, went into the airlines. The airlines can be boring, but it provided for me and my family. I loved going to work regardless, and getting paid for that is all you can ask for,” laughed John.??

How long have you been at JGG and tell me about Paragliding???

“I came here in August of this year [2021]. It’s close to my home in Ford’s Colony so it's very convenient. Of course, paragliding is totally different. There are some transferable skills like basic aerodynamics and wing stalls. Things like knowing about the airport environment and how to talk on the radio and understand the flight patterns… that’s all very useful. A lot of paragliders just launch out of soccer fields or community parks (which is illegal in James City County).”??

Can you explain the process and what it’s like to learn and fly a paraglider? ?

John said “…learning how to use the wing is like skydiving, but learning how to launch is the hardest part. There also aren’t a lot of instructors, but it’s a big learning curve when you find the right one. Most of the training is focused on take-off. The highest I’ve been is 2,000 feet, but it’s more fun at lower altitudes. A friend invited me to a paraglider fly-in once and I’ve been hooked ever since.”?

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Can you tell me more about flying airplanes??

“I’m looking for the right plane, something small, experimental, not too expensive but lots of fun. I’m not in a rush though. This is fun right now.”?

Interviewing John gave me a unique glimpse into what seems like a fun and inexpensive way to be involved in aviation and get the thrill of flying.??

This article is brought to you from previous JGG Intern, Ava Barsoom's Airport Tenant and Employee Interview Series. Since this interview was completed, John continues to paraglide, and is also now the owner of a Sonex Onex - the small, fun, airplane he’d been looking for. It has collapsible wings and is hangered at JGG, along with his paraglider.