Alva Review-Courier -

Airplane repo man Kevin Lacey is one of the headliners appearing for the air show in Alva next weekend. The Discovery Channel star has been doing repo for almost 40 years so he's amassed quite a colorful collection of stories.

Lacey, who lives in McKinney, Texas, knows aircraft inside and out having rebuilt his own as a 20-year-old mechanic. Though he was told mechanics don't fly, he had dreams of becoming a pilot. Working for Cessna, he amassed so much knowledge they couldn't avoid putting him in the cockpit.

Lacey has racked up a lot of titles: crew chief, state department pilot, director of operations. He started his own fixed base operation. But being a repo man brings his greatest satisfaction.

He was just 21 when he "liberated" his first plane from an owner who defaulted on payment. It was good money and brought an undeniable rush. He was hooked. He's done over 450 repos around the globe. He's risked life and limb and run-ins with the law. He's been detained and jailed in such faraway locales as Africa and Brazil, but he's always been acquitted.

It seems only natural that someone who knows and loves aviation so much wants to pass his storehouse of knowledge to the next generation. Lacey has started Tango Thirty One Aero Clube, a non-profit organization, to do just that. It provides teens with a chance to explore opportunities in aviation.

Most recently Lacey and the teens are involved in rebuilding a Cessna 150 known as "Ugly." They hope to have her ready to fly into Alva for the Wings over the Prairie Air Show June 22-23.

Lacey said the kids from the club are going to help any way possible at the show. Members of the sales team at Vantage Plane Plastics in Alva have spent time with some of Lacey's kids and can vouch for the excitement they have for aviation.