I’ve had a blast living life in the fast lane for a good part of my life. As a fighter pilot and experimental test pilot on high-performance fighter aircraft in Canada, the UK, and the US, I’ve penned some pretty unique journal entries. As a kid, I was always looking upwards. While learning to fly at 16 years old in a field in Southern Alberta, Canada, I never imagined that I’d become a spaceline pilot for a commercial space company, Virgin Galactic.

I was born in Calgary, Alberta, and hold engineering degrees from the Royal Military College of Canada and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I am also currently pursuing an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I’ve exceeded a total of 5,000 hours flying experience in more than 65 different aircraft including the F-16 Viper, CF-18 Hornet, Tornado GR4, and F-15 Eagle.

After making it to the final four candidates in the Canadian Space Agency’s 2009 astronaut recruitment campaign that received over 5,000 applicants, I thought that I’d have to give up on my dream of going to space. Thankfully, society has evolved, technologically, and with this has come an opportunity for us to democratize access to space.

 The patches below represent some of the fondest memories that I have from my flying career. Flipping through them is a fun way for me to relive some pretty amazing experiences, and the highs and lows that come with the territory. As a child, many of these particular patches represented my dreams…now they’re on my wall or flight suit.