James Dunn Mathis at age 16 was the youngest pilot to fly solo across the United States.
He crossed the Mississippi River and stayed at Adam's Mark hotel in St. Louis MO over a rainy 4 July weekend.
Currently Mathis lives in Baltimore County with his wife Christin Bethany Jones, social services counselor.
Subsequently he was hired by WBAL-TV - the NBC affiliate in Baltimore before moving to WTTG-TV - FOX 5 in Washington, D.C., where he covered news stories at the White House and the United States Congress.
In 2002 Mathis founded, Mathis Productions, Inc. and has produced a variety of programs ranging from reality, comedy and human interest Over the years he has won numerous awards for photography and editing including two local Emmy Awards (one for photography and one for editing) at age 20.