Rusty Shaub

Rusty Shaub first came to Alaska in 1968 to work for the families tire business. Work involved traveling throughout Southeast Alaska’s logging and construction camps servicing heavy equipment tires. Travel involved quite a bit of flying in floatplanes to access camps throughout the region with no road access. He moved to Ketchikan in 1975 and began flying his own Cessna 180 floatplane a few years later. In 1985 he switched from the passengers seat to the pilots seat and began flying as work instead of flying to work. In Ketchikan Shaub flew for Westflight until he and his family moved to Juneau. In 1986 he began working for Wings of Alaska and has been a valuable team member from that point on.

During his time with Wings he has been a Line Pilot, Chief Pilot, Director of Operations, and occasionally lends an extra hand in the maintenance hangar. At this point in his career he enjoys the summers in the air and the winters in the hangar where it doesn’t rain, snow or blow. His motto, as any pilot could appreciate, is “working in a place where the ceiling is always in the same place is a darn good thing”! With the creation of Wings Airways Shaub became an instrumental element in the ownership and management of an employee owned company. Throughout his years of flying he has operated a variety of radial engines taking him to every corner of Southeast and beyond. The exciting part of flying Wings Airways aircraft today is the advance from the radial engines on the deHavilland Otters to the turbine engines. The increased performance, power, speed and reliability have these floatplanes flying better than ever. They have also been a vital improvement in correcting environmental noise concerns our harbor side neighbors had with the traditional radials. Shaub has been with Wings through each change and advancement over the years and will continue to provide his experience and expertise into the future.

Wayne Love

Wayne Love was born and raised in the Eastern Oregon area. He served in the US Army from 1972 to 1976 with most of his time spent overseas. While stationed in Europe his Armor division was always accompanied by a helicopter unit, inspiring Wayne into the world of aviation. Once returning to Oregon he pursued an education and a career in flying. Beginning with an Associates degree in Aviation he went on to add a Bachelors Degree in Business/Economics from Eastern Oregon State College to his list of accomplishments. After graduation he researched his next move while gaining hours as a flight instructor.

With family already living in Alaska he added it as a possibility while sending out resumes. With the support of his wife Wayne began his first commercial flying position with Skagway Air based in Skagway, Alaska in 1986. In 1991 he earned a position with Wings of Alaska in Juneau where he has been ever since. Wayne became Chief Pilot in 1996 and now holds the title of Chief Pilot for both Wings Of Alaska and Wings Airways. His many responsibilities include the hiring and training of new pilots and overseeing the training program that includes recurrent training for all Wings pilots. With his experience and knowledge he makes an excellent employee-owner in the newly formed Wings Airways.

Wayne and his wife Marlene have three grown children who have had the fortunate experience of growing up surrounded by Alaskan beauty and the hum of aviation.

Sam Wright began a lifetime of flight in 1964 in Southern California. His commercial career began one year later. The next 7 years were occupied by Cessna dealership in Southern California flying their various products.  Wright took a short break from flying first as a GI, then as a small business owner.  After trying other careers he could no longer deny his passion for flying. While working at Cessna he spent seven years hearing romantic Alaskan stories by a fellow employee who was a former Air Force fighter (F-89) pilot, based in Galena, Alaska.  The timing was right to follow a dream, so he packed up his car and headed North to the land of the midnight sun. Wright is now a twenty-five year veteran of Alaska with only a two-year break to fly DC-3s out of Charlotte, NC. Wright made Southeast Alaska his permanent home when he joined Wings of Alaska in May of 1988. Today Wings depends on Wright for both scheduled flights and the glacier flightseeing tours flying deHavilland DHC-3 on floats and the Cessna 208 on wheels. Wright calls Haines his home, a small Alaskan town 70 air miles to the Northwest with a population of 1,808. As Juneau is a city with no road in or out Wright commutes to Juneau daily in his own plane. With over forty years of flying experience he was an essential piece of the new ownership when Wings Airways was formed in 2001.

Adventure runs deep through this Southern California native. Bruce Tice had spent many hours skydiving over sunny California when he decided he wanted to be the one in the pilot seat. This desire led to his pursuit of a private pilots license. However his first trip to Alaska was aboard a sailboat as a part of the Orange Coast College Sail Training Program. With a USCG Masters license he lead the students from Hanalei, Hawaii to Glacier Bay, Alaska. Impressed with the scenery and the floatplane activity throughout the Inside Passage he realized flying in Alaska was his next goal. Tice continued with the college’s marine program and a professional career with the Newport Beach Police department. Not settled yet on what a he wanted to do “when he grew up,” he returned to Southeast Alaska to pursue seasonal aviation related employment.

Wings of Alaska gave him is first opportunity using his boating skills on the waterfront assisting the tug and dock placement when the floatplanes would take off from the side of the visiting cruise ships as well as general ground crew duties. He continued to pursue commercial and instrument ratings at the same time. Today Tice flies a variety of Wings aircraft, with most of his time spent in the turbine deHavilland Otters during the summer months in Juneau. He continues to balance employment with three jobs in two states and pursue world travels. His sail training has taken him on voyages from the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia (where he participated in the great Sydney-Hobart Race of 1999), and South even further to Antarctica. Tice believes that these experiences combined with the structure of the Newport Beach Police Department make his ownership in Wings Airways another successful adventure each year.

Al Clough is a lifelong Alaskan growing up in Juneau during territorial days. He has a masters degree in geology and has worked throughout the state. In his capacity as a geologist Al has studied the Juneau Icefield since the late 1960’s and is a trustee for the private foundation that has been doing research and education on the Juneau Icefield continuously since 1946. He has been flying since 1984 and owns his own plane, a Piper PA-12, or “Cub”. Al is currently flying part time and relief for Wings Airways. His other job is Deputy Commissioner for the State of Alaska Department of Commerce.
Al and his wife Jeffra, a dispatcher for Wings, are part of the employee ownership group for Wings Airways. They reside year round in Juneau.

Gary Thompson was raised in Washington. He attended Western Washington University where he received his degree in Business Administration. After graduation, he worked in
wholesale computer sales until he decided to pursue his lifelong dream of being a pilot.
He earned all his ratings at a flight school in eastern Washington, then spend 2 years building time working as a flight instructor. In 1993, with 800 hours logged, he moved to Juneau, Alaska, having heard that this was the place to build time toward flying for the big airlines.

Dan Corson gained a degree from the Center of Aero Space Science from the famed flight training school, the University of North Dakota. After graduation he gained airline experience working at the Minneapolis International Airport as a “rampie”. He then gained flight time as a flight instructor with Buffalo Aviation. He spent any extra time working a wide variety of jobs including blackjack dealer and framing/matting for his fathers business. In 1996 he became a Corporate Pilot in Buffalo, Minnesota. Corson had known a pilot from the Juneau area, opening the door to Alaska and a dream of becoming a bush pilot. His wife Becky agreed to the adventure and Corson joined Wings of Alaska in 1998. Today he holds many titles as Assistant Chief pilot, Check Airman, and Safety Officer for both Wings of Alaska and Wings Airways. Perhaps the most important title of all is being father to son Denny, a possible future bush pilot in the making.