Born in 1955, Dave Cannavo was flying as long as he could remember; after all, his father owned Aero Taxi Charter at Philadelphia Airport. Dave took flying lesions at age 15, soloed at 16 and got his commercial license at 17.
At 18, he decided to build an airplane - not a kit plane, but a true replica of "The Spirit of St. Louis." He built it from plans obtained from a fellow who had worked on the original. It took Dave three and a half years, including many visits to the Smithsonian, where he was often lifted by a cherry picker to study and measure.
Like the original, Cannavo's replica incorporates a periscope instead of a windscreen for forward vision. He flight-tested it on Thanksgiving 1979, and logged 250 hours. The "Spirit" is now in the Kermit Weeks Museum in Flonda.
During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, Dave was director of maintenance, and subsequently president, of Aero Taxi, which had expanded into New Castle Airport, DE. He flew freight charters, accumulating 10,500 hours. During this period, he got his air transport and maintenance authorities. Aero Taxi was sold in 1995.
In 1990, Dave entered into the business of buying, refurbishing and reselling European military jets in the United States. He started with the purchase of two L-29 jets from the Czech Republic. This led to acquisition and ratings in the following types: T-6 Learjet, Falcon Jet and European fighter jets, MiG-21 and 23, L-29 and L-39s.
Dave teamed up with longtime pilot-mechanic friend Joe Gano, of Wilmington, to enter custom refurbished jets in the National Reno Championship Air Races (Nevada). They took top honors in their class in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
Cannavo was the only MiG-23-qualified pilot in the United States. The master aviation mechanic restored over 63 jets at his 3,300-foot grass strip at Townsend, DE where he lived with wife Nancy and their children Kelly, David Jr., and Cherie.
