Houston native David Dale is a fifth-generation Texan who graduated as a fourth-generation Longhorn from the University of Texas at Austin with a Business Administration degree. He was commissioned in 1984 as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. His flying assignments during a twenty-year military career included navigating the B-52G, piloting both the U.S. KC-10 and Dutch KDC-10 air refueling tankers, and finally the Gulfstream G-III and G-V (C-20B and C-37A) for high-level dignitaries. 

His aviation articles have appeared in Plane & Pilot magazine and on Avgeekery.com. 

He is married to the former Karin Smith of Corpus Christi, Texas, and they have two grown children, Daniel and Shelby. David is currently a Boeing 737 captain for Southwest Airlines. He and Karin reside in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin.