5 /5 Thomas Hood: Big Bend prepared me for a successful life both in aviation and my business career. I am forever grateful for an outstanding time in my first two years of higher education. My best friend, Harry, and I met as we joined the BBCC flight school in 1967. I am pictured with Pat Epps our first boss in aviation. (My friend’s uncle). Lindbergh’s autograph to my father. Harry and I with Pat Epps (second generation aviator). Harry and I in front of Wright Flyer at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. Pictures of my grandfather’s flying machine with him in cockpit in 1913, my father flying the Boeing Supersonic aircraft simulator, Harry and I standing next to the beloved J-3 Cub in which we have many hours. My step dad next to the Corsair he flew after WW II. Harry and I in front of his grandfather’s 1911 flying machine. Yep…we had a good life in aviation thanks to BIG BEND!