LtCol Art Nalls doesn’t plan on letting something as little as retirement keep him away from his passion. The retired Marine and former naval aviator used the fortune he made in real estate to purchase his own British Harrier Jump Jet, the first aircraft he flew in the Marine Corps.
After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1976, his interest in aviation grew. He has flown 65 different types of planes in addition to the Harrier in his time in the military; he was even individually selected to do test flights at Naval Air Station in Maryland.
The British military put their Harrier Jump Jets to scrap due to spending cuts, and that was his chance to fly again. He spent over a year refinishing the aircraft, despite the criticism. With over 900 hours and 400 landings in the jet, Nalls was ready to get it in the air.
After he took off in the jet, he said, “I was euphoric.”
