SPONSORED
Friends of the late Dave West are invited to celebrate the launch of his memoir, Kick the Tires and Light the Fires, on Sunday, April 28, at Sun City Peachtree Golf Club.
A former longtime resident of Fayette County, Mr. West was a naval aviator, FAA test pilot, and aviation consultant.
This memoir covers the life of Mr. West from his childhood in the 1940s and 1950s in Ironwood, Michigan; his education at the U.S. Naval Academy and subsequent training as a carrier pilot; his tour of duty during the Vietnam War; attending the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School; serving as a test pilot for Northrop Aviation and the Federal Aviation Administration, where he served on the team that developed the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCASII); and completing his career in aviation as a Designated Engineering Representative and aviation consultant.
Mr. West began the memoir project after his wife, Becky, encouraged him to tell the story of his career.
“You’ve had such an important career in aviation and your grandchildren don’t even have an idea of all the things you’ve done,” she told him. “You need to write a book so they’ll have a record of it.”
He was collaborating on the story with co-author Ron Martz when he died in 2021 after a short illness. His family decided to continue working with Mr. Martz to finish Dave’s story after his death.
Mr. Martz, an award-winning journalist and co-author of five books on military history and national security issues, will attend the celebration and discuss his interviews with Dave. Mr. Martz was also co-author of Col. Ben Malcom’s “White Tigers: My Secret War in North Korea.”
Mr. West’s sons, David, a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (1987), and Travis, a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (1990), will also read excerpts from the book.
Books will be available for purchase at the event, which takes place from 3 to 5 p.m. Admission is free, but reservations are requested. To “Save a Seat”, email his widow, Becky, at tophatter3@bellsouth.net, with your name and the number of people in your party.
Sun City Peachtree Golf Club is located at 250 Del Webb Boulevard, Griffin.
