The Boy Who Dreamed of Flying: The John W. Kiker Story - From Model Airplanes to the Space Shuttle - Hardcover

Kiker, Joel W.: - Joel W. Kiker is the son of John William Kiker. Following in his father's footsteps, Joel spent his own career in engineering, retiring after almost 39 years at ExxonMobil, where he served his final seven years as Vice President of Global Drilling and Completions. Growing up, Joel shared his father's passion for flight, spending countless hours building and flying model airplanes. Many of his favorite childhood memories were made on weekends at the Johnson Space Center's antenna range, which doubled as a runway for their models-a fitting backdrop for a boy whose father was helping build the space program. A graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in Civil Engineering, Joel understands both the technical achievement and personal dedication represented by his father's work. During his time at A&M, he worked as a co-op at McDonnell Douglas for two semesters onsite at JSC, running a "hypersonic arbitrary body" program for a design team working on shuttle body flap configurations. Joel has been married 50 years to his wonderful wife, Karen, who encouraged him to write this book. A dedicated educator who taught for over 30 years and continues to substitute today, Karen has always been inspired by John's life story and has shared it with countless students, their own children, and their grandchildren over the years. Together, Joel and Karen have three children and three grandchildren who continue to be inspired by their grandfather's legacy.