Pete Williams' flying career began at age 18 when he soloed a Piper Cub. His dream of becoming a Naval Aviator was realized with his first landing aboard an aircraft carrier at age 20 in 1947. In 1969, after a 21 year Naval Aviation career, he soloed an SGS-33 at Estrella Sailport, Arizona. Since then he has owned seven sailplanes, including two self-launchers.

He is the founder and first president of the Self-Launching Sailplane Pilot's Association, now known as the Auxiliary-powered Sailplane Association. The author of many articles, studies and surveys concerning powered sailplanes, he holds Certificates of Recognition from the Soaring Society of America and National Aeronautic Association for his efforts in organizing the powered sailplane movement in the United States. An active pilot with four U.S. Motor Glider Records, he has a total of over 8.000 flight hours. including 2.700 in sailplanes.

Written in 1998, the picture and text in this article are from Pete's book "Self-launch! Retractable Engine Sailplanes". He died in a traffic accident Feb. 11, 2005, on his way to the SSA convention in Ontario, California.