Our next trip is planned for April 28-29 to Cedar Key (KCDK). We have 26 members signed up and are planning a fun weekend. We will fly into KCDK Saturday morning, have lunch and take a scenic boat tour late afternoon, with dinner following the tour. There should be plenty of time for sight-seeing and shopping after lunch. There will be additional information coming soon for those who have signed up.

Lunch-Bunch News. 

The next Lunch-Bunch outing will be at on Saturday, April 14^th at Callaway Gardens, GA - KPIM.  Sherri and Paul will have more details in email soon. Send your reservation to lunchbunch@platt.org. Check the Georgia Flyers calendar for more upcoming Lunch-Bunch gatherings at http://www.georgiaflyers.org/calendar.htm.

Meeting News. 

Our next meeting will on Sunday, May 20^th, at the EAA 690 hangar at Gwinnett County airport (KLZU) from 1:30-4 pm.  Cheese, crackers, fruit, dessert and beverages will be served.  Paul and Sherri Platt also will brief us all on the latest internet weather services available for flight planning.  It should be a very informative session as Paul and Sherri have accumulated considerable expertise in this area.  Members are invited to fly in or drive in.

Upcoming Events and Calendar Changes.  We are making a couple of changes to our planned events calendar that I wanted to tell you about. These will also be updated soon our Georgia Flyers website.  The annual picnic that we have held the past several years at Mallards Landing will be at Peachtree City Falcon Field on June 16^th. The meal will be catered and there will be games and activities. As you may remember, we held the picnic at Falcon Field several years ago and it was a big success. This will also coincide with the June Lunch-Bunch outing, so this will be a good chance to meet and greet fellow flying enthusiasts and prospective members. So please get this event on your calendars and plan to attend. You will not miss it.  This will move the Tullahoma Lunch-Bunch event originally planned for the same day. More information will be supplied by Paul and Sherri as Lunch-Bunch plans become firm.  

Also, the Angel Flight Pilot Appreciation banquet is scheduled for Saturday, June 23^rd. If you are an Angel Flight pilot, you will be receiving more information on that by mail and email.

After Bill graduated from the U of F he spent the next seven years as a project manager for a general contractor, salesman with United States Gypsum Co., Architect Service Representative in Atlanta, and finally, Manager of Architect Service Dept. with USG in Chicago.  When he was informed that his future was in the corporate headquarters in Chicago he said “I don’t think so.”  Nancy and Bill packed up their household, three children and their dog and headed back to Atlanta to start an interior building contracting business.

In 1971 while owning and managing a successful construction business, Bill decided that he and Nancy wanted to learn to fly.  So they went to C&S Bank and each borrowed $600 to start training at PDK.  It promptly became a passion to fly.  They purchased a used Cessna 182 and flew it until the youngest daughter, Susie, could no longer fit in the baggage jump seat.  Pat Epps promptly sold them a factory new Seneca I and later a new Aztec E.

During the mid-1970’s, Atlanta developed a construction depression due to the overbuilding of office space.  Since Shiver’s construction business was mostly based on building and renovating office space, business expenses became tight.  His accountant said the Aztec had to go.  Again he said “I don’t think so.”  Rather than give up the Aztec, he formed a single pilot, one aircraft, FAR135 air charter business.  Before long, the “tail was wagging the dog.”  Bill was flying most days while trying to manage the construction business.  The solution - sell the construction business and go 100% into the air charter business. 

After operating Aztec Charter, Inc. from an office in the PDK Administration Building for about two years, Bill had an opportunity to lease land at PDK and build a 14000 square foot hangar/office building.  That was the beginning of Flite Services, Inc. an FBO incorporating air charter, maintenance, flight training and avgas fuel sales. 

During the years with Flite Services he operated only piston aircraft while the competitors were eager to move to turbo prop and jet charter.  This left a business for the lower cost piston market.  This worked great.  In addition to its own developed charter business, Epps Air Service and Hangar One directed much of their piston business to Flite Service while Flite Services sent the turbo prop and jet business to them. 

This was a fun business with Flite Services operating about 11 aircraft including Lances, Senecas, Aztecs, Navajo Chieftains, Beech 18’s and a DC3.  All of the aircraft were used to transport passengers and freight, except for the DC3 which was freight only.

For twelve years the business operated successfully and profitability.  Bill thought he wanted to do this business the rest of his life.  That all changed when one day he had an unsolicited offer to buy the business for cash!  The deal was done.  For the next ten years the Shivers spent their time in Florida building a home on the water at Tierra Verde, an island at the south end of St. Petersburg.  During those years they cruised the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Coastal Florida.  They were out of aviation. 

In 2003 the aviation interest was beginning to surface again.  At the AOPA Expo that year they saw the Cirrus SR22.  That was next generation glass cockpit magic compared to the last airplane he was flying, the DC3.  In February 2004 they took delivery of a new Cirrus SR22 and have flown it over 500 hours. 

Daughter Barbara has been an Air Traffic Controller at PDK for her entire career except for assignments at Palm Beach International and Atlanta Hartsfield.  Barbara retires from the FAA in June this year.  Daughter Susie graduated with a degree in Aviation Management from GSU.  She was the office manager at Flite Services.  Son Bill started his career as an aerospace engineer with Boeing Aircraft.  After working on the certification of the flight management systems on the 757 he decided he wanted to be an airline pilot.  He has been a Captain with Alaska Airlines for 20 years.

Bill was president of the Flying Rebels in 1979.  He won the Rebel 600 in 1981 in a Navajo Chieftain, the first time the race had been won in a twin engine aircraft. 

The Shivers flying activities include trips to the Florida Keys, Angel Flights, and flying missions for the Methodist Habitat on Eleuthera, Bahamas.  He is president of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club Flying Club.  The Flying Club holds monthly fly-ins to destinations mostly in the Southeast.  The next fly-in is to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, an island off the coast of Cancun.

Nancy and Bill have been married 51 years.