Orcutt resident Steven Purwin took his first flight at the tender age of five, thanks to his father. Prior to that flight, his mother said he rarely talked. Afterward, she said, he never stopped.
As he grew older, Steve set lofty aviation goals and achieved them with flying colors. He solo flew on his 16th birthday, earned his private pilot license on his 17th birthday, and accomplished something many thought was not possible on his 18th birthday:  earning his commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates on the same day.
           Having a pilot’s license while still in high school, had its advantages. Steve recalls flying dates to Catalina Island and Santa Barbara for lunch, making him quite popular with the girls.
At 19, Steve took a job in Puerto Rico to accrue multi-engine flight time. Later that year, he trained at Van Nuys Airport to earn his Learjet rating. Over the next 28 years, Steve flew a variety of high-profile clients from the worlds of sports, entertainment and politics. From O.J. Simpson to President Gerald Ford—and hundreds of notable passengers in between, he built an impressive aviation career flying Learjets, Lockheed JetStars and Boeing 727s.
           During his years flying charter aircraft, Steve transported Las Vegas entertainers including Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Ann-Margret and Frank Sinatra to name a few. Later, he flew for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, where he was credited with helping hockey legend Wayne Gretzky overcome his fear of flying.
           One particularly memorable experience occurred during the 1992 presidential campaign, when Bill Clinton’s campaign leased the team airplane for 10 days leading up to Super Tuesday.
“Bill Clinton was great,” Steve recalled. “He often spent time in the cockpit, completely engaged with the crew.”
           During his time with the Kings, Steve developed a relationship with comedian John Candy. He fondly remembers an evening in Aspen, Colorado, when John Candy and his family took him out to dinner and then to a screening of one of Candy’s movies. Steve joked that the movie wasn’t great, but the audience stood up and applauded Candy when it ended.
           After the Kings, Steve spent the latter half of the 1990s flying for tennis star Andre Agassi during a period that included Grand Slam victories and Agassi’s marriage to actress Brooke Shields.
Of course, hard work came with some extraordinary experiences. Throughout his aviation career, Steve attended several Super Bowls, Kentucky Derbies, major sporting events, and even an Academy Awards ceremony.
            Steve retired from flying in late 2009. After 28 years in the industry, he was ready to stop living on someone else’s schedule. The people he met and the experiences he enjoyed played a central role in shaping who he is today. He attributes that the discipline required to succeed in such a high-pressure profession helped develop the critical thinking and analytical skills that continue to guide his decision-making and contribute to his happy, healthy Orcutt retirement.
           Steve and his wife, Rhonda, whom he met while working for Agassi, moved to Orcutt in 2018. They have embraced life on the Central Coast and truly enjoy being part of this community.
Steve joked, “many of my friends have said that after flying, I should have become a bartender because my stories are so entertaining.”  Writer’s note: After hearing a few of them, I would have to agree and wish I could tell you more, but he won’t let me.
Katy Jacobson reporting