Community Features

NWI Community Feature, June 2023:

Kley Parkhurst

Kley Parkhurst is a pilot on a mission.

Since earning his private pilot’s license in 2019, Kley has immersed himself in flying for the benefit of others.

A lifetime dog lover, Kley first started flying shelter dogs to loving homes and rescue organizations through the nonprofit Pilots N Paws.

To carry out these important missions, Kley relies on two trusted airplanes. The first, an L17-B, was originally used by the Greek Air Force. And with a tail number of N20000—a number conspicuously close to the Air Force One tail numbers of N28000 and N29000—there’s an urban legend that President Eisenhower may have once flown the plane.

Kley’s second airplane, a Rangemaster, provides additional cargo capacity, which is particularly important for transporting large groups of shelter dogs to safety. His current record is 26 dogs in a single flight.

Funny enough, Kley originally had to convince volunteer organizers to allow him to use his Navions for these missions.

“These people wouldn’t accept the Navion to fly these missions because they thought it was too old, so they had their pilot liaison come out to inspect the plane and sign off on it,” Kley recently told NWI.

Since that initial hiccup, Kley has made Navion believers out of the skeptics through his proven results. He has also expanded his volunteer services significantly. He currently flies for a handful of nonprofit organizations that rely on his capability and generosity. Now, in addition to transporting rescue dogs, Kley also regularly flies ambulatory medical patients and Veterans experiencing PTSD to medical appointments and treatment centers. Kley’s dedicated service enables immunocompromised and low-income individuals living in rural areas to travel to faraway medical specialists in order to access the healthcare services they need.

While Kley’s service-driven approach to flying is admirable in itself, the sheer volume of missions he conducts is downright staggering. In 2022, Kley flew 94 missions, transporting 41 patients and 343 animals—all while working a full-time job to help fund the missions.

“I can work remotely so I’m usually able to arrange it where I fly somewhere in the morning to the pick-up, then work at the Flight Director’s Office (FDO) until the flight, conduct the flight, and then work at the FDO again at the end of the day and fly home after hours,” said Kley. 

Despite his impressive record of service, Kley maintains the selfless humility of a man on a mission to fill a constant need. He also says his volunteer pursuits provide him with a legitimate reason to go fly.

“I am 100% focused on the mission and the Navion for me is an excellent platform for serving the mission, said Kley. “And I love to fly so it is very rewarding from a piloting perspective.”

When Kley touches down at Culpeper Regional Airport in his home state of Virginia after a long mission, he does so knowing that he has put his Navion to good use.

NWI is proud to equip Kley with the parts he needs to keep his airplanes mission ready. “On the occasions that I have needed parts or advice or help, Jerry and Navions West Inc. have been fantastically supportive,” said Kley.

We believe it is a mission well worth supporting. Cheers to Kley Parkhurst, our July 2023 featured pilot of the month.

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NWI Community Feature, June 2023:

Ron Judy

In a world with Navions, why fly anything else? Such is the devotion of many pilots in the Navion community, and the personal belief of longtime Navion aficionado Ron Judy.

Many new pilots today learn about the Navion from older relatives or online forums, but Ron Judy remembers reading magazines featuring the then-new Navion as a teenager in 1950.

Ron began his pilot’s training at just 15 years old. His dreams were delayed however, when a major storm ripped through his hometown, destroying the local airport and placing his training on hold. Ron would later complete his training and earn his private pilot’s license while attending Oklahoma A&M University—known today as Oklahoma State University.

After many years of flying different types of aircraft, Ron came upon a deal that he couldn’t pass up: a chance to buy a Navion like the ones pictured in the magazines that he had spent hours pouring over as a teenager. Ron recounts becoming instantly hooked on the Navion after that purchase.

“In 1987 I bought my first Navion, and after I that I hardly flew my Cessna again,” Ron told NWI in a recent call. “I’d had a brand-new Cessna, spec’d out like I wanted, but when I flew the Navion I quit flying the Cessna and sold it. I never wanted anything else after flying the Navion.”

For Ron, owning his own Navion was the realization of a dream that ended his search for the perfect personal airplane.

“All my flying years before that, I dreamed of what my next airplane would be,” said Ron. “But after I flew a Navion, that was over. I’d reached where I wanted to be and never wanted to fly anything else.”

A few years later Ron would acquire a second Navion, which he rebuilt from top to bottom over a period of six years. Between the two airplanes, Ron has collected two ANS contest victories, first in 1990 and again in 2000. Ron is also a proud recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award for having over 50 years continuous piloting with no accidents and no violations.

Though Ron hung up his flight jacket a few years ago, he still owns what he refers to as his “latest and best Navion,” which is now being flown by his son, Alan.

Ron remains quite active in the community through his business, Navion Aero, an FAA licensed repair station repairing and overhauling Navion aircraft hydraulic components. He is also the longtime technical advisor for the American Navion Society, and he routinely fields phone calls from pilots looking for his expertise.

We’re glad he picked up our call to tell us about his Navion story. Cheers to Ron, the NWI featured pilot for June 2023.

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NWI Community Feature, April 2023:

Dick McSpadden

Dick McSpadden hasn’t taken a moment of his Navion flying career for granted. As a young man who dreamed of flying and first learned about the Navion by collecting model airplanes, Dick developed an affinity for the Navion that would become a lifelong passion.

“I was just infatuated with the Navion and just thought it was the greatest thing in the world,” Dick recently told NWI. “Though I didn’t feel like I could afford one at that time.”

Between raising a family to putting food on the table, it would take some time before Dick could pursue this passion, and it all came thanks to the gift of a lifetime from his wife and children.

“I learned to fly when I was 40 years old,” Dick recounted. “My wife and children got together enough money for me to solo to say I was a pilot….from that moment I fell in love with flying.”

Dick would acquire his first Navion, 5318K, in 1983. For the next 37 years he would go on to fly more than 5000 hours in that airplane, often on trips with his wife and kids. Dick has flown over nearly every corner of the U.S., and he is proud to have landed in every one of the 48 contiguous states. However, he takes even more joy in his track record serving as a mentor to new pilots.

As the former president of the Southern Navion Air Group, Dick received many calls over the years from aspiring pilots who wanted to know more about the Navion. For his part, Dick would share insights and offer Navion rides to all those looking to learn. To date, Dick has helped 51 people become Navion pilots and owners.

Chief among those Dick has taught are his own sons Richard and Cliff, both of whom have gone on to become accomplished professional pilots.

Dick sold his prized Navion, 5318K, a few years ago to the next family who would make memories in it. When asked about parting ways with the plane that brought him so much joy over the years, Dick expressed only selfless excitement: “This family has small kids who are in love with that airplane and they expect that their kids are going to learn to fly in it.”

And for Dick, that’s what it’s all about.

As Dick would say, and often has over the years to friends and mentees alike, “Go fly a Navion.”

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NWI Community Feature, March 2023:

Rusty Herrington

Rusty Herrington is a heavy hitter in the Navion community. A longtime pilot and board member of the American Navion Society, Rusty knows as much about Navion airplanes as just about anyone.

For Rusty, flying Navion has been nearly a lifelong passion. When he was a small boy, his father, James, would take him out to their local airport on Sunday afternoons—in the era before cable TV—to watch the airplanes fly.

Rusty vividly recalls his very first plane ride in a Piper Colt during one of his father’s flying lessons. He was seven or eight years old at the time and small enough to ride in the baggage compartment—which he did.

From that first ride, Rusty was hooked. About ten years later, Rusty would go on to earn his own private pilot’s license (not long after receiving his driver’s license). Since that time, flying has played a significant role in Rusty's life.

Rusty has passed on the joy of flying—which he first experienced with his father—to his own children and grandchildren. He has also served as a mentor on all things Navion to countless pilots throughout the Navion community over the years.

“People call me for questions,” said Rusty in a recent conversation with NWI staff. “I enjoy talking about the airplanes so I’ll pretty much talk to anybody who has some interest in the airplanes and answer their questions and talk about the differences and virtues of the airplane.”

The respect Rusty receives from the community is well earned. Rusty spends so much time flying that he is only half joking when he refers to his Navion as his "work truck."

“I use my airplane like most people use their cars,” said Rusty.

And he means it. Rusty takes to the sky multiple times a week. His Navion stays warm and rarely sits idle long enough to collect any dust.

“If I’m going somewhere, I get in the airplane and I go,” Rusty described. “It’s not a major production. I check the weather; I check the airplane, and I go. I commute to work in my airplane every week.”

And like many in this community, it’s Navion or nothing for Rusty. “I can’t find anything else any better, forsure,” said Rusty.

Maybe we’re biased, but we couldn’t agree more.

For his service as a steadfast mentor to so many pilots in the Navion community, NWI is proud to recognize Rusty Herrington as the March 2023 featured pilot of the month.

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NWI Community Feature, February 2023:

Mike Hawkins

Mike Hawkins is a Navion man through and through. It’s a love affair that stretches back six decades as a pilot.

A lifelong adventure-seeker, Mike found his passion for flying as a young man after ruling out another method of recreational travel: sailing.

In his early twenties, Mike had an opportunity to go sailing off the coast of San Diego. After a short time on the high seas, the rocking of the boat proved too much for his stomach to handle. Not long after, Mike would trade in his sails for wings.

It was around this time that Mike was first introduced to the Navion. In 1964, he would go on to purchase his own plane, “the green and white canopy model,” at 28 years old. Since that point, there has been no looking back.

Mike fondly remembers week-long trips in the family Navion from his home in Woodland, California down to Mexico—his favorite place. “We went down to Mexico a lot for lobster,” recounts Mike on a call with NWI. “All good memories.”

From Mike’s view, the Navion has always stood a cut above the rest, so much so that it is the only type of aircraft he has chosen to own in his long tenure as a pilot. “I’ve enjoyed my decision to stay with the Navion,” said Mike proudly.

A longtime member of the American Navion Society and the IV Navion Club, Mike has fond memories of attending the annual presidential fly-in events. Ever the competitor, Mike would often place in these events. It was here that Mike came to know Frank Neglio, the father of NWI founder Jerry Neglio. Only recently, after the founding of NWI, did this connection come back into focus.

Such is the nature of the Navion community—a small and fiercely loyal group of pilots from across the U.S. and around the globe, joined by a mutual love of this very special aircraft.

Like so many in this community, adventures in the Navion were a family endeavor for Mike Hawkins. Mike first earned his pilot’s license alongside his wife and co-pilot of sixty years, Sandra. Together Mike and Sandra led countless family trips in their Navion.

Mike’s daughter Jennifer recently told NWI, “I can’t count the number of times Dad would take me out of school to go flying…Dad has always been adventurous.”

Here’s to Mike, the NWI featured pilot of the month (the first of many such features).

Stay adventurous, Mike.

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