Tom Kahlert was raised in rural Florida. He graduated Gordon Military College in 1966, University of Georgia in 1968, and Florida Institute of Technology in 1988. Both he and his wife, Sandy Reeder-Kahlert, are rated pilots. They own a Bellanca Super Viking and a Cessna- Air Repair 305F (O-1 or L-19) Birddog. Tom has been flying since 1969, with over 7,100 piloting hours, including 21 years as an Army Aviator and 24 as commercial/private pilot. Tom’s military piloting included airplanes and helicopters in Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, most of the continental US, Central America, Germany, Israel, and Egypt, including the Sinai. Sandy has been flying for over 12 years. They are both long time contract employees of the US Missile Defense Agency, Tom as a Senior Systems Engineer/Analyst and Sandy as Senior Mathematician/Analyst. Tom retired Oct 31, 2014. They use their airplanes to visit 4 daughters and sons in laws and nine grandchildren in NJ, NC, TX, and DC. They have taken other trips to Cedar Key and Marco Island, Florida; Bar Harbor Maine; the Rockies; and most of the East Coast, Southeastern US, and the Midwest. They enjoy the Huntsville Symphony and Arts Museum, State and National Parks, Moontown Airport, kayaking, cooking, traveling to Europe – especially Germany and Italy – and have been known to sip a bit of wine.
Tom was drawn to SouthWings because he really believes in our mission. He flew his first two SouthWings missions south of New Orleans over the oil fields for Der Spiegel and ThinkProgress December 3 – 5, 2014.
Awarded SouthWings’ 2016 Bird Dog Award
