James V Weatherill was born in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up as a "military brat," his father a career Airman in the US Air Force. Jim held a pilot license before a driver's license. His flying career spanned 44 years and he acquired more than 25,000 flight hours. He began his helicopter flying as a US Army Chinook pilot in Vietnam from November 1967 to November 1968 and has 1,341 combat flight hours. Jim has over 6,000 helicopter flight hours and 19,000 fixed wing flight hours. He retired as a Boeing 737 Captain from Continental Airlines, and is now an aviation consultant. He is a graduate of the University of California, Riverside. Jim enjoys woodworking, writing and playing his guitars