Entrepreneur
With a background in commercial banking, small business consulting, and venture capital, Kate traded her business suit for a flightsuit and built Barnstorming Adventures, Ltd into the largest and oldest vintage air tour business in the U.S., possibly the universe.
Kate is an authority on small business marketing, finance, management, promotion, and growth. Her experience includes ten years in commercial lending with two of the nation's largest banks, seven years developing business and financing plans for high and low-technology companies, and 24 years as owner/operator of three successful businesses.
With her special knack for finding and understanding real business issues, she was an SBA award winner, Inc. magazine Entrepreneur Of The Year finalist, Wharton Business School lecturer, and coauthored two business books with Tom.
Scientist / Innovator
As a sophomore in college Tom co-authored his first technical journal article; as a junior he taught computer programming at a night school, as a senior he started the first commercial computer service bureau in Albuquerque.
After 8 years in the Navy he joined Booz Allen & Hamilton as Consulting Scientist. As Senior Scientist for the Online Computer Library Center he conceived and led the first U.S. trial of a networked home information service. He was President of a medical imaging start-up funded by Elsevier, then founder and president of Flightline Electronic Publishing where he met Kate.
A former Navy flyer, commercial pilot and FAA certified flight instructor, Tom has over 40 years of flying experience and is an aviation world speed record holder. He was selected as a NASA Solar System Amabasador (aka Space Evangelist), and was co-owner and Chief Pilot of Barnstorming Adventures.