Ron Bonini was born and raised in the small town of Oscawana, New York where he resided until 2011. He currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife Linda. He worked at the IBM Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York for 40 years, retiring in 2008
His father was a flight instructor and Ron made his first solo flight on his 16th birthday. He received his instrument and commercial pilot licenses by the age of 21. In his youth he flew his own plane and had an interest in motorcycles, automobiles and New York Yankees baseball. Today he spends much of his time hiking in the Sonoran desert.