Santiago resident Dave Lichy has liked airplanes for as far back as he can remember.

“I’ve basically liked planes since I could walk,” he said. “I remember putting together balsa wood and remote control airplanes as a 10-year-old. I was just fascinated by it.”

Lichy turned his fascination with airplanes into a career, retiring earlier this month after 40 years in aviation.

As a sophomore in high school, Lichy had an electronics teacher who got him excited about the electronics field. After graduation he attended St. Cloud Vocational Technical College where he became certified as an electrical technician for large mainframe computers.

During this time period Whitney Memorial Airfield in St. Cloud closed and the new St. Cloud Municipal Airport opened three miles east of the city in 1970.

Flying lessons became more affordable, which Lichy took advantage of. Unfortunately, his instructors didn’t share information on finding a job and airlines were recruiting pilots out of the military.

“You couldn’t walk off the street in the late 70’s and get an airline job,” said Lichy. “And there was no guidance, so I continued in the electrical industry.”

He worked for Sperry Univac for 12 years making large mainframe computers for big companies, but when desktop computers started showing up, he saw the handwriting on the wall.

“That’s when I said I’ve got to do what I’ve always wanted to do,” said Lichy. “I went to the St. Cloud Airport and got my commercial pilot rating, multi-engine rating and flight instructor rating.”

He became a flight instructor and ended up managing 14 other instructors at St. Cloud State University until he heard Mesaba Aviation was looking for pilots. He applied, was hired, and started flying turboprop aircraft. Eventually Mesaba merged with Pinnacle Airlines, which later changed its name to Endeavor Air after getting into jet-powered aircraft. All three companies were/are subsidiaries of Delta Airlines.

“Nothing is normal in the aviation industry,” said Lichy. “You have long hours and strange days. It’s not a 9 to 5 job.”

During his career he flew all over the east coast and central United States. For a short time, he was also flying over the Rockies.

He doesn’t recall having any close calls or scary moments during his career, but from a functional point of view there were challenges with weather and electrical issues.

“It didn’t scare me per say,” said Lichy. “In the airline world passengers are actually more of a challenge than anything else.”

He believes his wife, Kathy, and children Christopher and Heidi, had it harder than he did, as his flight assignments consisted of four day trips, causing him to miss family events like holidays and birthdays. As a union member flights were assigned by seniority.

 Although he retired July 10, Lichy would have preferred to keep flying. However, by law pilots aren’t allowed to carry passengers after they turn 65.

“It was very, very hard for me to basically say goodbye,” he admitted. “I miss it a lot.”

Although he doesn’t own his own airplane, he doesn’t plan on keeping his feet completely on the ground during retirement. Although he lost his ATP (airline transport pilot) license when he turned 65, he’s still rated for multi-engine and has his private pilot license. He also has other plans.

“I’m not a fisherperson so that’s not in my cards,” said Lichy. “My wife and I plan to do a lot more traveling together. We like to do that.”