James Tullis Has Fifty Years Of Aviation Under His Belt

The Salina Airport Authority in Salina, KS, plans to honor Jim Tullis and his 50 years of flight excellence when he is presented with the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, Saturday, March 30 at 10 a.m. at the M.J. Kennedy Air Terminal. Tullis is one of less than 50 pilots in Kansas to ever have earned the award. The FAA recognizes pilots who have demonstrated professionalism, skill and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 years or more.  Recipients are awarded a certificate and a lapel pin and are recognized in the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award Roll of Honor.

James L. Tullis began flying at the Amelia Earhart Airport in Atchinson, KS, in August 1962, making his first solo flight on December 30 of that same year in a Piper Colt.  In fact, Jim's shirttail still hangs on a bulletin board in the airport. He received his private pilot certification on April 28, 1964 and took at job at the airport to build flight hours.  He took his commercial check ride with Ernie Mosier in Topeka and received his commercial certificate on January 7, 1965.  He stuck with Mosier to get his flight instructor rating on April 24, 1966.
 
In 1967, he moved to Manhattan to work for Capitol Air and did the flight instruction for the Kansas State University Air Force and Army ROTC students. He received his instrument rating on August 18, 1967 in Wichita and his multi-engine rating on December 24, 1967 in Kansas City.
 
In April 1968, he went to work for Trans Missouri Airline to build his multi-engine time flying the Cessna 337 and Cessna 402.  Every day he flew from Topeka to Kansas City to Jefferson City to Saint Louis and back.  In 1969, he went to work in Salina, eventually finding himself flying for ADM Milling Company.  It was there he spent the next 24 years. He received his airline transport pilot certificate on March 22, 1971.  He went to school in Wichita for the King-Air E-90 in 1974.  He received his instrument flight instructor certification from the FAA in Wichita on May 14, 1976.  In June the following year he went to training in Dallas for a Cessna CE-500 type rating from American Airlines.
 
In February 1981, he traded the Citation 501 for a Citation II and flew that until January 1985 trading it for a new Cessna S-II. In 1989, he received his CE-650 type rating after attending flight safety training for the Cessna Citation 650.

In 1993, he retired from ADM Milling but remained active for several years flying jets for Cessna in Wichita and has kept his flight instructor certification current, teaching several people over the years.  Throughout his flying years, has run a flying club and trained many pilots.  He became a designated FAA pilot examiner for private pilot to airline transport pilot and was given the authority to issue CE-500 and CE-650 type ratings.
 
At last count, Jim's total flying time exceeded 17,000 hours, which includes 3,000 hours of flight instruction, 9,800 hours of Citation Jet time, 3,000 hours in the Beech King-Air and 500 hours in the Beech Baron. In his 50 years of continuous flight experience, Jim Tullis has exhibited the professionalism, skill and aviation expertise that make him worthy of the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

FMI: www.salair.org