Jan. 29--Winn Baker has spent the equivalent of almost five years of his life in the air.
Flying is all he's wanted to do, and he's still doing it.
Baker began learning to fly at just 8 years old, executing takeoffs and landings by age 12 and making his first solo flight on his 16th birthday. He received his private pilot's license a year later.
Baker began commercial flight school with 6,383 hours of flight time already under his belt and in January 1964 found himself flying for Delta.
He hasn't slowed down since.
The life-long pilot will be recognized in April for all his time in the air by being inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, where he'll join his father, Sam Baker, who was inducted posthumously.
"It's a great honor," Baker said. "There's a lot of folks in there, including my father -- people who are leaders in aviation."
Aviation is a family business that Baker doesn't take lightly.
"I've taught quite a few people to fly down here," he said.
Baker has worked as a flight instructor and charter pilot for the family-owned company, Baker Flying Service, and as a pilot for Golden Isles Airline and a Brunswick manufacturing company.
"It's the only thing I know," he said. "I don't know anything else I could make a living at."
It's that kind of dedication that led the Glynn County Airport Commission to nominate Baker for induction.
"His longevity in the aviation business is well-documented," said Steve Brian, executive director of the Glynn County Airport Commission. "His family has contributed a lot to aviation in this community.
"I don't know if I've ever seen anybody who has 40,000 hours of flight time."
In the 1950s, before Jekyll Island became the destination it is today, Baker taught budding pilots how to execute a successful takeoff and landing on Jekyll's lengthy beach. The stretch of hard sand was perfect to demonstrate takeoffs and landings without having to fly long distances.
"I've flown off every beach in the Georgia coast," he said.
The rewards have been more than just monetary. Baker's long history in the aviation industry has given him the opportunity to see the Golden Isles from a perspective not many people experience.
"Just the beauty of everything from the air, especially coastal Georgia, is amazing," Baker said.
Copyright 2013 - The Brunswick News, Ga.
