Page 10 - Twin and Turbine June 2017

All Consuming Dream
A native Texan, Chambliss grew up with the innate hunger for flying. “My dream of becoming an airline pilot consumed me,” he recalled. “While a lot of kids grow up having no idea what they want to do with their lives, I was fortunate in that I knew exactly what I wanted from a very young age.”
His father was a private pilot and skydiver, but he was reluctant supporter of his dream. Together they build a Davis Aircraft, an angular-looking, two-place experimental. Beyond that, he was skeptical that his son could reach the upper echelons of the pilot profession.
“To him, (flying for the airlines) was like winning the Olympics – extremely hard to do,” Chambliss said. “But I was going to do it no matter what, and I did.”
Working odd jobs – everything from hard labor to fueling airplanes at his local airport – he chipped away at his ratings and built time as an instructor, freight pilot and at 21, and a corporate pilot for La Quinta Motor Inns. Three years later, Southwest Airlines hired him as a pilot. He eventually made captain at the ripe age of 28.
Discovering Aerobatics
Back when he was still working as a corporate pilot, his boss, the chief pilot, was a strong believer in aerobatic training in the event the Citation they were flying ever experienced an upset. The company hired famed aerobatic performer and
instructor Duane Cole to give 5 hours of dual to each company pilot in a Super Decathlon.
“This experience changed my whole life. At that point, I was bored with straight and level flying, and couldn’t get enough of aerobatics. As soon as I was hired on at Southwest Airlines, I bought a Pitts S2A,” he said.
Immediately, he realized two things: He couldn’t afford the $38,000 he paid for it, and no one wanted to ride with him anyway. He sold the plane and bought a single-seat Pitts S1S for half the money. “The S1S was a lot of bang for the buck. You couldn’t beat it. Monoplanes were just starting to make an appearance, but the Pitts was still an all-around great airplane.”
As Chambliss built his aerobatic resume, he worked closely with Zivko Aeronautics in the development of the Edge monoplane, even serving as the test pilot from 1993 to 2005. He owned the prototype and today flies a stock Edge 540 powered by a Lycoming IO-540.
Chambliss went on to earn a spot on the World Aerobatic team, where he was a mainstay competitor from 1997 to 2005. Aerobatic championships fed his competitive spirit and propelled him to podium finishes including the 2000 World Freestyle Championship and five U.S. National aerobatic titles.
“I am a really competitive person. I raced motocross when I was little so maybe it all started there, but my saying has always been ‘second place is the first loser.’ Whatever I do, I do it to win,” he said.
8 • TWIN & TURBINE
June 2017