A High Calling: LCU Alumni in the Skies

Was there a faculty or staff member who walked with you during your time at LCU — someone who encouraged, mentored, or guided you along the way?
Being part of the recruiting group The Hard Travelers created a close-knit community during my time at LCU. Terry Looney (‘69), Dangie Tabor (‘72), and the entire recruitment staff were part of that experience and encouraged us and mentored us along the way.

Do faith or personal values play a role in how you approach your work as a pilot?
When you are traveling all over the world, it is important to keep God first in your life. There are many temptations for crewmembers, and I witnessed the results of those without the Lord in their lives, having marriage problems due to infidelity. Also, my attitude towards fellow crew members and passengers was different from most. I always was truthful with passengers about delays and made myself available to answer any questions they had.

What type of flying do you do now, and what do you enjoy most about it?
Since retiring from the airline, I no longer fly myself. I have a son who now flies the B-777 for American Airlines, and my wife, Sharon, and I have been traveling to Thailand almost every year since 2009 to do mission work. Our time there is spent working with Burmese refugee children.

What advice would you give to other LCU students who might feel called to a path outside their degree field but still rooted in their purpose?
I always thought I was going to be a music teacher, and that's what I started my degree in, even though I wanted to fly. But I pursued a different career — one that I was excited about every time I went to work. Do something you love doing. One of the greatest honors I had was flying the New Orleans Saints around to their football games. I've met a lot of great people and had a great 32-year career in the airlines.

Was there a faculty or staff member who walked with you during your time at LCU — someone who encouraged, mentored, or guided you along the way?
Absolutely! There were so many faculty and staff members at LCU who truly changed my life. Professors like Dr. Kathy Crockett, Matt Bumstead, Dr. Laci Richardson, and Tracy Mack, along with staff members Josh Stephens, Kecia Jackson, Rose Johnson, and Randal Dement, all poured into me in different ways. Each of them played a role in encouraging, mentoring, and guiding me, and I’m deeply grateful for the impact they had on my time at LCU and on who I am today.

Is there one flight or experience that stands out as especially meaningful in your career?
One very special moment for me was taking my 92-year-old grandfather up flying. My mom is Canadian, and he was visiting our family in Texas on what was most likely his last trip there. Even though it was just a small Cessna 150, it was a proud and meaningful experience for both of us and being able to show him my flying skills meant a lot.

Do faith or personal values play a role in how you approach your work as a pilot?
Yes, being a Christian, my faith touches everything I do. It can be challenging to open doors to faith conversations when interacting with so many people from diverse backgrounds, but I hope my Christian values reflect in how I treat co-workers and customers every day.

What path did you take after graduation to become a pilot?
I enjoyed farming and crop spraying, so it was a natural evolution for me to decide to make a career out of it.  I got my pilot license while still in high school. We kept one of our airplanes at a small airport just outside of Lubbock, and I would fly home to the farm on Friday afternoons to help with farming and spraying, then I would fly back to the Lubbock area on Sunday afternoons. This helped to build up my flying hours while I attended LCU.

How did your time at LCU prepare you for your career as a pilot — whether through academics, community, or faith development.
All of us McNeill boys were taught to do our very best by our parents in work and all areas of our lives. And those lessons were reinforced while I was at LCU.  The faculty and staff had high expectations, and I always tried to do my best.

Editor’s note: Dudley is one of six McNeill brothers — Dave (‘69), Tim (’78), Jim (’75), Warren (’82), and Walter (‘84).

Was there a faculty or staff member who walked with you during your time at LCU — someone who encouraged, mentored, or guided you along the way?
Les Perrin and Larry Rogers were instrumental in my years at LCU. They encouraged me and held me accountable, and their influence on me was significant.

Is there one flight or experience that stands out as especially meaningful in your career?
I’ve been flying since my teenage years – so, for about 60 years now. Over that number of years, I’ve had some interesting flight experiences.

One morning, while flying to a field to spray, a fire started somewhere inside the plane and the cabin began filling with smoke. I quickly descended and found a dirt road to land on and was able to get out before the plane completely caught fire. A different situation happened when one blade of a two-blade propeller broke off while I was in mid-air, so I had to find a good level field to land in very quickly.

Our spraying business is out in the country where our farm is located. And typically, each morning, we would go out to the plane, crank the engine, and pull the plane around to the chemical tanks to load whatever chemical was to be sprayed that day.  This one time, though, we loaded the plane the previous night, and the next morning cranked the engine and immediately took off to go spray. What I didn’t know on that particular morning was that a snake had crawled into the engine area overnight.  After taking off, I was headed to the field we were to spray, and I saw something strange sticking up out of the engine area, right behind the propeller. I finally figured out it was a live snake. As the engine got hotter, he began crawling out onto the cowling, and he ended up falling off the plane. It was very strange!

How did your time at LCU prepare you for your career as a pilot — whether through academics, community, or faith development.
You learn all sorts of life lessons as a college student, and during my freshman year, I served as a student photographer. My sophomore year, I was a student photographer and was also responsible for running the Photography Lab, which was actually housed in the Arnett House before it was moved and renovated. We would take and develop most all the photos that were used for the yearbook and The Duster, as well as other projects and publications as needed. We learned how to respond well to those for whom we worked; we learned how to work as a team of photographers; and we learned how to treat people well in a variety of situations.

I would say that I came to LCU with a robust background in knowing how to treat people and how to represent Jesus well, but the community I experienced and the varied opportunities and responsibilities that I had at LCU prepared me even more for life after graduation.

Was there a faculty or staff member who walked with you during your time at LCU — someone who encouraged, mentored, or guided you along the way?
Dr. Leon Crouch was an influential faculty member for me as a Bible major, and Les Perrin gave us good advice for how to retain information and be ready for his infamous exams. He told us to “read over your class notes every day, and you’ll have no problem doing well on my tests.” His advice for studying has served me well in life. And Vernon Brown, who was a public safety officer on campus, and Don Umphrey, Director of the Public Information Office, both ended up being good life-long friends.

Is there one flight or experience that stands out as especially meaningful in your career?
Over my career of flying, I have had the privilege of piloting jets with some famous folks on board. When Bill Clinton first ran for president, my company was hired to fly him around during his campaign, we ended up in Little Rock the night he was elected. We provided airlift for the performer, MC Hammer. Our company also was hired to fly professional sports teams. Over the years, I’ve flown the Houston Rockets, Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Dallas Stars, and Seattle Mariners. The most unusual passengers were some live Dolphins for Sea World.

Tom (Robert Thomas Moudy III) attended then–Lubbock Christian College starting in 1965, when the institution was still a two-year school. An agriculture student during his time at LCU, Moudy later completed his degree in biology at West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University). A 1965 graduate of Happy High School in Happy, Texas, he came to LCC that fall. While finishing his degree, Tom married his wife, Sandy. He has a notable family connection to LCU — his grandfather, Robert T. Moudy, Sr., was an uncle to F.W. Mattox, LCU’s founding president, and completed the waterworks for the campus. Now retired, Moudy resides in the Fort Worth area.

When did you know flying was more than just a hobby or interest — that it was your calling or career path?
My father flew B-17s and B-24s out of Italy, so I was always interested in flying. As a young boy, I put together every model airplane kit I had access to.

While I was at LCU, that interest really grew. The campus was surrounded by cotton patches, and I hauled cotton to be ginned west of campus. I would see T-38s and T-37s flying in and out of Reese Air Force Base, and I’d just sit and watch them.

What path did you take after graduation to become a pilot?
While I was finishing my degree at West Texas State, I received my draft letter for Vietnam. I was given permission to finish my last semester and graduate before entering the military.

I went through officer training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where I earned my pilot’s license, and then trained on the KC-135 Stratotanker at Altus Air Force Base, flying air-to-air refueling missions. I was deployed to Thailand and other Southeast Asia locations, flew 103 combat missions, and later served as a military instructor pilot.

Is there one flight or experience that stands out as especially meaningful in your career?
Flying 103 combat missions in Southeast Asia and later serving as a military instructor pilot were experiences that really shaped me, both as a pilot and as a person.

Do faith or personal values play a role in how you approach your work as a pilot?
In piloting, every day is a challenge, and I approached that responsibility with purpose and humility.

What path did you take after graduation to become a pilot?
Caleb: After graduation, I worked as a credit analyst in Amarillo for about a year. I felt called to do more, so I enlisted as an Apache helicopter mechanic with a vague hope of flying someday. After three years, I was selected for Warrant Officer Candidate School, then flight school. Upon graduating, I chose the AH-64E Apache as my advanced airframe, which I’ve been flying since 2022. My years as a mechanic and crew chief on the Apache really helped me as a pilot.

Currie: He walked into the Amarillo Army recruiting office with one bold plan: fly Apaches. Recruiters hear that every day, so he knew the road would be lengthy. To get as close as possible, he enlisted as an AH-64 mechanic. He was deployed to Korea, where he spent long days turning wrenches and learning every bolt and blade on the Apache. Eventually, he sent in his flight school packet to Fort Rucker, Alabama. Four weeks later, living in a tent and calling it “character building,” he finally got Wi-Fi long enough to check his email and learned he was accepted. Nervous and excited — flying the military’s most expensive and angriest lawnmower? Totally fine.

How did your time at LCU prepare you for your career as a pilot — whether through academics, community, or faith development?
Caleb: The study habits and time management skills I developed at LCU have been incredibly valuable. The interpersonal skills I gained as a student and IK club member have been vital as well. Most importantly, LCU helped my faith become my own. I grew up in the Church of Christ, but my faith really took root when I was away from my parents, and the Christian community at LCU helped me establish good spiritual habits that continue to guide me.

Currie: LCU shaped him more than he realized. Being in a faith-centered community of encouragement and character kept him grounded and helped him develop a resilient mindset. He paid his own way and worked full time while in college. With five siblings and no handouts, that built the discipline he needed later. Flight training has brutal evaluations and requires people who can think clearly under pressure — having a degree from LCU helped Caleb stand out professionally.

Was there a faculty or staff member who walked with you during your time at LCU — someone who encouraged, mentored, or guided you along the way?
Tracy Mack, the Dean of the College of Business, provided invaluable counsel and support. Also, Dr. Russell Dabbs and Dr. Brian Starr were professors I’m deeply grateful to have learned from.

Is there one flight or experience that stands out as especially meaningful in your career?
My first flight in an AH-64 stands out. When I was a helicopter mechanic, my troop commander, Captain Nait Brown, was incredibly supportive of my goal to go to flight school. After I was selected, he became an Apache Instructor Pilot. On the first day I was scheduled to fly the Apache, Captain Brown surprised me by showing up and taking me out for that first flight. That was pretty incredible.