DAVID R. CUMMOCK

David R. Cummock, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, son of William R. and Margaret S. Cummock. His life-long love of aviation began with a single airplane ride in 1954 and in 1955 he earned a private pilots certificate. In 1956 he was accepted into the Air Force Aviation Cadet Program and in 1957 he entered active duty as an aviation cadet. In 1958 he graduated (6 out of 66) with class 58-0 and received his pilot wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant. At age 23, he was the youngest person in the Air Force to quality as an aircraft commander in the B-47. In 1964 he entered the B-58 program and at 27 years old became one of the youngest aircraft commanders in the history of that program. During nearly ten and one half years in the Air Force he flew the T-34, T-28, T-33, F-86, F-102, B47 and B-58 aircraft. In October, he joined the 104th Tactical Fighter Group (now the 104th Fighter Wing) of the Massachusetts Air National Guard where he served until retirement in September 1986. During those 19 years he was assigned as a Squadron Pilot, Ground Training Officer, Command Post Controller, Chief of Standardization, Flight Commander, Squadron Operations Officer, Squadron Commander, Massachusetts Director of Operations, and beginning in March 1981, Group Commander. He was promoted to Colonel in October 1981. He flew as an Instructor Pilot and Flight Leader in the units successive mission aircraft, the F-84F, the F-100D and F-100F, and the A-10. He was the units top gun in 1975, 1977, and 1981 and the first pilot qualified as mission ready in the A-10. Colonel Cummock is a distinguished graduate (in residence) of Squadron Officer's School and a graduate of the Command and Staff and the National Security Management Programs by correspondence. In June 1967, the then Captain Cummock left active duty with the Air Force and entered flight training with American Airlines. In September 1967, he qualified as a Boeing 727 flight engineer and was assigned to American Airlines New York domicile. Captain Dave Cummock retired from American Airlines in February 1997. He spent the last five years of his airline career flying the Boeing 767 and 757 on international routes.