Eric Huppert is a native of Albany, NY. After graduating from the US Air Force Academy in 1983, he spent fifteen of his twenty years in the Air Force as a pilot in Special Operations. He has been stationed at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina; Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan; Hurlburt Field in Florida; and also completed an exchange tour as a pilot in the Royal Air Force with British Special Forces. Following command of the 6th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field, FL, he retired as the Deputy Commander of the 16th Special Operations Group.

After retiring in 2003, he flew surveillance aircraft in Kosovo for NATO, helped manage the Baghdad International Airport, and was the Deputy Operations Director for the US Department of State’s Air Wing. While with the Department of State, Eric flew the OV-10 Bronco in counter-narcotics operations.

Eric has logged approximately 7,000 hours in many different types of aircraft, and is a Certified Flight Instructor / Multi-Engine Instructor, as well as a homebuilder. A graduate of the State Flight Academy of the Ukraine, he is also experienced in several former Soviet-bloc aircraft.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in American History and a Master’s Degree in International Relations, and pilots both the Mustang and OV-10 Bronco aircraft for Stallion 51.