Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles

Flying the Most Feared Warplane with Troy Johnson – Adventurers Club

Flying the Most Feared Warplane with Troy Johnson - YouTube

Troy Johnson joined Northrop Grumman in January 2004 as Manager of Flight Test Engineering for the B-2 Program at Edwards Air Force Base.  He has served in follow on management assignments with increasing responsibility with the most recent assignment as Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems Sector Chief Test Pilot in October 2013.

Troy also served 21 years in the Air Force as a Test Pilot and Commander and has over 25 years of flight test and acquisition experience. Troy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Astronautical Engineering from the US Air Force Academy, a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from California State University, and is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School.

From Fighter Pilot to Test Pilot with Col. Hank Reed – Adventurers Club

From Fighter Pilot to Test Pilot with Col. Hank Reed - YouTube

Colonel Hank Reed, USAF (ret), has lived a life dedicated to excellence in aviation. From his time in the Air Force to his work as a test pilot at Nellis Air Force Base, his adventures have taken him around the world at speeds most can only dream of. From Army brat, to fighter pilot, to test pilot, Hank, callsign “Moose” has quite a few stories to tell.

Hank Reed was born in Germany to a US Army Officer and his German mother. He grew up moving around with his family and graduated the Citadel in Charleson, SC with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He commissioned into the US Air Force and completed pilot training and survival school. He flew the OV-10 Bronco as a Forward Air Controller and the F-16 Fighting Falcon as a fighter pilot and later became a test pilot, proving the latest generation of weapon systems for the Air Force. He is married with 3 sons and is looking to buy a plane if anyone’s selling.

This is a the first in a series of talks devoted to Aviation and Test Flight.

Filming Legendary Locations with Eric Streit – Adventurers Club

Filming Legendary Locations with Eric Streit - YouTube

Eric Streit spent time traveling the world in order to produce episodes and segments for the Travel Channel series, “Legendary Locations.” He too the show to Niagara Falls, various cities in Portugal and historic towns and villages throughout Sicily. Eric even brought Michael Lawler, Member #1195, so that he could burn him at the stake for one of the episodes. During this interview, we will hear about how he executed that and get a sneak peek at some of the footage.

Bill Altaffer, Member #1095, is arguably the world’s most traveled person. Many members of the Adventurers’ Club are well-traveled, however, Bill ranks among the most traveled people in the entire world.

He visited all the 193 independent countries of the UN, all continents, 327 countries and territories on the Travelers’ Century Club list, 858 countries and territories on the MTP list, 1,062 regions on the NM1281 list, 1024 UNESCO World Heritage Site and spent 16 years on the road. The list of travel accolades Bill has accumulated is too numerous to list.

Bill has traveled since 1949. He owns a small travel company that designs travel to extremely exotic places. He lives part time in Mammoth Lakes and San Diego.

33 World Top Travelers

Most Traveled Person (MTP)

MIR Travel

Andre Navarro, is a Freediver, Ocean Videographer and Adventurer. As a teenager, he lived for catching big waves body boarding at Huntington and Newport during the storm swells. In his late 30’s he started snorkeling when there were no waves to catch. While snorkeling at Cabrillo Beach off Point Fermin, he came face to face with a harbor seal. Two eyes stared back at him from the dark shadows of the kelp. That moment forever changed his interest in the ocean and its life and he has been hooked ever since. His interest quickly shifted to free diving. He began locally at Cabrillo Beach and quickly branched out to Laguna and La Jolla. At the same time, he purchased his first GoPro and began creating videos of his adventures.

His job offered him the chance to travel to Mexico and Ukraine to recruit and train new employees. While working on the Yucatan, he would travel to Tulum, Isla Cozumel and Isla Mujeres to free dive. While traveling, he fell in love living among other cultures and experiencing the diversity in the ocean and nature. He began to train to become a better free diver, videographer and video editor. During his last two years working, he was traveling so much that he was able to move out of his apartment, sell most of his things, and store the rest. This allowed him to save on bills and free himself to travel long term. In June 2019, he resigned from his job and set out to attempt to make a living traveling and producing dive adventure videos.

Since then, he has been constantly traveling and free diving Southern California- from Los Angeles to San Diego to Baja and the Mexican Caribbean. His next goal is to dive all the spots from Malaga Cove all the way South around Palos Verdes and document the entire experience.

Andre was born in San Pedro California and grew up in Long Beach. He graduated Millikan High School class of 93 and attended Long Beach City College where he earned an Associates degree in Art with a focus of drawing and painting. He served in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as a Custody Assistant and was promoted to Deputy and worked custody and patrol assignments. After 9 years of law enforcement, he changed paths and began a civilian career in the field of Conveyor Belting and Industrial Machinery Distribution. He performed many functions including fabrication and installation, purchasing, business development, marketing, sales and branch management. During his time in industry, he was sent to Mexico and Ukraine to help recruit and train international employees. It was also during this time that he fell in love with traveling and experiencing other cultures. He began free diving more exotic locations on the weekends. After 14 years, he resigned and began is next adventure.

Kevin Lee is a prolific traveler. Working a corporate job in Seoul, he resigned and embarked on an open-ended three year solo adventure around the world. Along the way he met some interesting people and experienced some unique adventures.

Kevin’s adventure gene has taken him to over forty countries as well as multiple treks to Mt. Everest Base Camp and Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest summit. During his fourteen months backpacking in India, he recalls a warm hug from Mother Teresa and meeting the Dalai Lama as some of his fondest memories. After learning to scuba dive, in 2002, Kevin embraced underwater photography as a way of sharing the ocean’s wonders with non-divers. He supports marine biologists by collecting and photographing rare animals, many of which are new to science.  Some of his award winning images are on permanent display at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University in Orange, California. Other works have been exhibited at the Branford House, the University of Connecticut, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, and the Aquarium of the Pacific.

Kevin Lee may be best known for his adventures and marine photography. He has SCUBA dived all seven continents in his pursuit of Nudibranch. Along his photography quest, he even has a species of Nudibranch named after him, the Placida kevinleei. He is active in the Orange County Underwater Photographic Society (OCUPS) and Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS). The Adventurers Club of Los Angeles inducted Kevin as a member in 2012 and he has served on the board of directors for a number of years. In 2017, Kevin was accepted as a member of The Explorers Club.

You can view some of Kevin’s Amazing Photography on his website- https://www.diverkevin.com/

Jim Dorsey is an explorer and award winning author who has spent two decades visiting some of the most remote tribal cultures on earth. His driving goal has always been to make the world aware of these peoples before they vanish. During his extensive career as an Adventurer and Explorer, Jim has undertaken numerous expeditions around the world. From trekking across the Sahara, to exploring remote volcanoes in Ethiopia with NASA, Jim has quite a few stories to tell from his travels off the beaten path. 

Jim has written for United Airlines, Colliers, The Christian Science Monitor, Lonely Planet, The LA Times, BBC Wildlife, BBC Travel, Geographic Expeditions, Hidden Compass, Panorama, Natural History, plus several African and Caribbean magazines. He is a foreign correspondent for Camerapix International and a travel consultant to Brown & Hudson of London. 

His latest book, Baboons for Lunch, is available on Amazon and his previous book, Vanishing Tales from Ancient Trails, is available exclusively from Lulu.com. His stories have appeared in 20 travel anthologies. He has won 22 Solas Award categories from Travelers Tales and is a contributor to their “Best Travel Writing, Volumes 10, and 11" and the Lonely Planet Literary Anthology.” 

He is a retired fellow of the Explorers Club and member emeritus of the Adventurers Club of Los Angeles.

Marc Weitz, Member #1144, talks about his safe and amazing vacation in Northern Iraq and Pakistan. Author of He Who Fights with Monsters, available on Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z57PKHX

Watch the interview on the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles YouTube Channel-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTMCgx8EEY

Dr. Richard Slater talks about his career as a deep sea explorer. Author of Views from the Conning Tower, available on Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Views-Conning-Tower-Adventures-Deep-Sea/dp/0984910522

Watch the interview on the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles YouTube Channel-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWI3L2ydimY

Mike talks about his career as a professional stunt man, BMX legend, and adventurer extraordinaire. Find Mike on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/mikeescamilla/

Watch the interview on the Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles YouTube Channel-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2TmM74JJk