In real life John was a licensed pilot and he met his death in a Long 
EZ plane in Pacific Grove, California on Oct. 12, 1997

His father, Lt. Col. H.J. "Dutch" Deutschendorf was also a pilot.
In 1940 Henry John Deutschendorf Sr. enlisted in the Air Force.  From there 
his military career was onward and upward.  First he was a pilot with 
prop-planes.  Later in the 1950's in the jet era, he became a jet pilot 
and in 1961 he set a world speed record with the Hustler, a supersonic 
B-58 bomber - 1200 miles an hour.  He holds three records for military 
aviation. John's father died in 1983 and John's album "It's About Time" 
is dedicated to him.