USD Magazine, Winter 1995

colleagues. "Prior to meeting David, I was working for the Department of Justice, teaching CIA agents how to fly," Peter says. "Getting into films was a matter of being in the right place at the right time." Growing up with a Marine pilot for a father, Peter always knew he wanted to fly. At 16, he got behind the controls of a helicopter for the first time, and when he graduated from high school, he was set on a career in flying. "College or no college, I was already a pilot," he says. Peter considered following his father into the Marines until his dad pointed out that military flying opportunities were diminishing. By the late 1970s, six pilots were sharing one jet, Peter says, so he traded a duffel bag for a footlocker and headed off to the University of Connecticut. After a year he trans– ferred to USD. Peter worked as a flight instructor while at USD and imme– diately after graduation began flying as a pilot for major corpo– rations. Although grateful not to have the pressure of deciding on a career, Peter says his four years on campus were invalu– able in helping him mature. "People who don't go to college don't know what it is to sit in an amphitheater or lecture hall and just listen," he says. Now living in Manhattan Beach, Calif., the McKernans are busy around the clock raising three children and coordinating as many as eight stunt projects at once. Jane has earned her own reputation as one of the top stunt drivers in the country. She also doubles in stunts for actresses such as Geena Davis, Daryl Hannah and Debra Winger. Peter and Jane's oldest son, Patrick, also has joined the family business, acting as a back– seat passenger for a Ford commercial in which his mom drove the car while his dad flew a helicopter alongside - a mere six feet off the ground - to film the action. McKernan Motion Picture Aviation works on an average of 70 commercials a year in addition to movies and television pro– ductions. From week to week, Peter will fly around the country or world to coordinate stunts and pilot the aircraft himself. He has kept busy despite the economic doldrums plaguing the country because, "the film industry is the only business that is absolutely recession-free," he says. And despite his tenure in the business, Peter is still turned on by flying for the movies. "When I step out of the plane, I still say to the producer, 'I can't believe you're paying me to do this,' " he says.

hen Peter J. McKernan '81 spotted fellow USD student Jane Mikolyski at a party, he told a friend she was the woman he would marry. For the next month, Peter casually waited out– side Copley Library every afternoon, hoping to run into Jane. As a senior, Peter didn't have any time to waste. She finally appeared one afternoon and Peter asked her if she'd like to go have a soda. Thirteen years later, Jane McKernan remembers the story slightly differently. Peter was hurrying out of the library, Jane says, and slammed right into her. In either case, the meeting led to marriage a year later and is now celebrated as one of the first stunts staged by Peter, who eventually parlayed that talent into a career as a professional stunt coordinator for movies and television. Today, McKernan Motion Picture Aviation, a stunt coordi– nation company, boasts a list of projects that ranges from the popular "Die Hard" and "Lethal Weapon" movies to the televi– sion series "Airwolf" and "Magnum P.I." to commercial spots for car companies and tourist bureaus. Recent productions showcasing Peter's work include "Star Trek Generations" and "The Brady Bunch" movie. Under McKernan's direction, 50 cars come to a screeching halt while Al Pacino crosses a New York intersection. Or a stunt double in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie repels from a helicopter into a baseball stadium. Or a skydiver doubling for Capt. Kirk parachutes out of the starship Enterprise. Whether it's a drama like "Scent of a Woman" or the latest action movie, Peter's skills are called upon by some of the hottest directors in Hollywood. As a high-performance pilot, Peter himself is often at the controls of a helicopter while a photographer captures the high– speed drama of a 110 mph car chase or the breathtaking beauty of an island paradise. His gutsy flying, noticed first by "Apocalypse Now" director David Jones, was Peter's ticket into the movie industry and has since earned him the respect of

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