Dan Gudgel has been around aviation his entire life in varying capacities in aerial application, flight instruction, air charter, and a glider tow-pilot.  He has been a Certificated Glider Pilot since 1984 and holds a Glider Flight Instructor Certificate (among other instructor certificates), an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner for the Glider Category based in Central California, a current and active California Journeyman Agricultural Pilot License, and has accumulated near 7000 hours flying time in various categories of aircraft.  As a professional meteorologist, Dan was with the National Weather Service and he has served as a soaring contest meteorologist for numerous local, regional, national, and international soaring events including two World Gliding Championships since 1979.  At the pleasure of Barron Hilton and Helmut Reichmann, he was an on-site meteorologist, towpilot, and instructor/check-pilot for the Hilton Soaring Cup from 1986 through 2012.  He served as the Chief Towpilot and Supervising Meteorologist for the “Return to Kitty Hawk” adventure in 2003, was assistant to Lead Meteorologist Len Snellman for the Earthwinds-Hilton Global circumnavigation attempts in the early 1990s; and more recently has been assisting as an on-site meteorologist for the Great Reno Balloon Races and Minden Wave Encampments.  Dan has published through “Soaring” Magazine a series of instructional soaring meteorology articles in the 2011 to 2015 time period.  Helping at Perlan Encampments in 2018 and 2019, he is again elated to help as the on-site meteorologist in conjunction with the rest of the Perlan Meteorological Support Team.