After completing his compulsory military service in the Turkish Army Artillery between 1943 and 1945, he was commissioned as a Supermarine Spitfire pilot in the Air Force.
Promoted to major general in 1974 and commanded all Turkish Air Force units in the Cyprus War.
[4] He was Commander of the Turkish Air Force from 1978 to 1983, and previously secretary-general of the National Security Council (1977–1978).
[6] After having been sentenced he was not sent to prison as he was in medical treatment for several illnesses at the Gülhane Military Research Hospital (GATA) in Ankara[7] and later on also in Istanbul.
Şahinkaya died at age 90 in the Gülhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) in Haydarpaşa, Istanbul on July 9, 2015.