Having grown up in Seneca Gardens, Pat MacDonald would regularly sneak over to Bowman Field to watch planes take off and land. He says he was an “ADHD kid, very mechanically inclined, and fascinated by how planes could take off and fly around.” It’s no wonder, then, that he got his pilot’s license to fly for fun as a teenager and has only grown his love of aviation.
Pat flies a Van’s RV, an experimental aircraft. “They are all built by hand,” he says. “They ship you a bunch of metal, rivets, and some instructions and say ‘Go at it.’” When Pat bought his plane, it was already built, but he put in all new electronics and systems to modernize it. He spends considerable time just working on his plane, whether for regular maintenance or updates.
Pat flew around 325 hours in 2025 and is an active member of Smoke On Aviation, an all-volunteer group that specializes in formation flying. The group has performed at Thunder Over Louisville, BowmanFest, and Louder Than Life. While Pat enjoys just getting up in the air by himself, he also finds the social aspect of recreational flying to be worthwhile. “The pilot community is very welcoming,” he says, and notes that among the Smoke On members, there is a special bond due to the level of trust needed when flying in formation.
Of course, if someone is more interested in exploring the skies while keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground, they might take a page from Steve Katsikas, who has developed a passion for astrophotography.
Like Pat, Steve developed his interest as a child. Under the guidance of his uncle George, who owned a reflecting telescope, Steve became fascinated with the heavens. But in 2020, his interest really exploded when he decided he wanted to take pictures of what he was seeing through his telescope. With help from Louisville Astronomical Society member Ronny Yates, Steve became fully immersed in a new passion.
For Steve, this hobby checks a lot of boxes. “It combines everything I enjoy,” he says. “It’s 50 percent technical [and] requires learning how to use your tools in the right way. The learning process is pretty formidable. The other 50 percent is artistic and aesthetic. That’s a really good balance that makes the hobby forever interesting.” Plus, there is the social component of being not only a member of Louisville Astronomical Society, but its president.
By Carrie Vittitoe
P.S. You may also be interested in this companion article: What’s Left To Explore? – The Wild.
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