Ted Dyson cannot remember when he did not want to be a pilot. He soloed over 50 years ago when he was 19 and got his PPL when he was 20. With over 2000 hours as Pilot-in-command, he holds a Commercial Pilot certificate with an IFR rating. He also holds a Basic Ground Instructor certificate. He owns a Cessna 182Q.
He grew up in Michigan and moved to Houston to attend graduate school at Rice University where he met his wife (Marianne) and received a Masters degree in Physics. He left Rice to work for NASA at the Johnson Space Center where he started as a Guidance Officer in Mission Control. 33 years later he retired as the JSC Chief Information Security Official.
He and Marianne were married while at Rice University. Marianne flies with him all around the country. Over half of his PIC hours have been in the C-182Q he bought in 2010 when Marianne said “you can buy another airplane, but it will NOT be a hanger queen”. On various trips, they have seen both oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the great lakes from the air. He has the route between Houston, TX and Albany, NY memorized where they go to see their grandson. His other two grandkids live across the street and he loves to take them flying when he can. He is an active pilot for the Coast Guard Auxiliary where he flies pollution patrol missions between Freeport, Tx and Lake Charles, La. He is sad to say that he finds an oil leak, on average, just under once per patrol.
