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Owner’s
Corner
Setting Sights High
Don Av8’s Cirrus Vision Jet by Grant Boyd
Don Medine has a story like many others – an early interest in aviation that fell to the wayside as other aspects of life took priority. The high
cost of flying and the fact that he did not have any aviation mentors growing up sidelined his lifelong skyward dream for many years.
After college, Don became a police officer in Northern California and had “an action-packed, 18- year career.” While his law enforcement career was cut short due to injuries, he was able to fall back on a company he founded a few years after becoming a police officer – Tactical Command Industries. The company designed and manufactured various tactical earpieces and headset solutions for law enforcement and military agencies across 60 countries.
Alongside his wife Patti, Don operated the company for nearly two decades until it was acquired in late 2013. Freshly retired at 48, he had newfound time to pursue his passions. Patti purchased flight lessons as a birthday gift and encouraged him to fulfill his
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAY TISDALE
longstanding goal of becoming a pilot. And in 2014, he fulfilled that dream and earned his pilot’s license within a year of retiring.
Don then worked towards his instrument and commercial ratings, which allowed him to travel the country. These ratings also allowed him to dive deeper into volunteer and philanthropy work. Don coaches high school football and is involved with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Medine is also involved with several volunteer pilot organizations, including the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol, Patient Airlift Services, Angel Flight Soars, Lifeline Pilots and Veteran Airlift Command. The common denominator among these organizations is the mission to provide free-of-charge, non-ambulatory transportation for those requiring treatment at medical facilities outside of their local area and transportation for veterans and their families. To highlight the work of these organizations and some of his flights, Don created the YouTube channel “Don Av8’s.”
24 • TWIN & TURBINE / June 2021