Flying above the rest

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tori Schultz
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  "As I have come along in my career I've always set my standards higher than the norm," said Master Sgt. Timothy Sewell, 6th Operations Group C-37A flight engineer senior flight examiner.

Sewell began his Air Force career in 1995 as a crew chief at Altus Air Force Base, Okla. Near the end of his enlistment, Sewell desired a change of pace and decided to pursue his passion of aviation and cross-train into flight engineering. Nineteen years later, Sewell has accumulated a total of 5,326 flight hours.

"Aviation is in my blood; my dad was a gunner in the Army and worked for Delta Airlines for 32 years," said Sewell. "I lived near the airport and have been around airplanes my entire life."

The average total of flight hours for a flight engineer ranges from three to four thousand for most flyers.

Sewell recalls some of his experiences in gaining these hours.

"As a young Staff Sergeant and new flight engineer, I deployed multiples times after 9/11. I was in the area of responsibility seven days after the attack, on Sept. 18, 2011," said Sewell.

Another way Sewell received flying hours is by going on different trips around the world. A trip that has always stayed with Sewell is his flight to Kazakhstan in February, which isn't typical.

"There was no wind chill and the temperature was 43 degrees-below-zero Fahrenheit," said Sewell. "We had to take all the aircraft equipment and the batteries out of the aircraft; a day or two later we had to put heaters in the aircraft just to warm it up before we could do anything."

Throughout Sewell's career, he's experienced many things that some could only imagine as he traveled around the world and pursued his dreams of flying.

Sewell's passion for aviation and setting his standards higher than the norm pushed him to excel and love his career in the Air Force.