Fav Airplane: C-172 & Piper Archer

About: Gary holds ATP, MEI, and CFII certificates. M.S. Aeronautical Science Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. FAA Gold Seal Instructor with over 3000 hrs. instruction given, all skill levels, private pilot thru ATP. Civil Air Patrol Instructor and Mission Pilot. Retired U.S.N.

Fav Airplane: Piper Cub

About: Lauren is a 2nd generation pilot, following after her late airline pilot dad and his sister, who was a pioneer American woman pilot in the 1920s and 30s, eventually losing her life in a mechanical accident as a ferry pilot in WWII. Lauren soloed in a Piper J-3 Cub at 17 years old and later graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Aviation Technology-Professional Pilot degree, with a CFI and B727 flight engineer rating. She had the amazing opportunity to represent Purdue in the Air Race Classic women’s transcontinental air race 2 years in a row. She took a break from flying to focus on raising 3 children with her husband, Kevin, who is also a private pilot. Lauren is excited to get back into flying, and to share the gift of aviation with her students, including her teenage daughter. She is also an active member of Women in Aviation.

Fav Airplane: Steerman PT-17

About: Mychal is from Whittier, California and officially joined DFC in 2019. He graduated from California State University Long Beach with a B.S. in Finance and Supply Chain/Operations Management. He earned a commission at AFROTC Detachment 040, Loyola Marymount University in 2011 and went on to complete Air Force Pilot Training in 2013. Mychal has approximately 1,200 flight hours in various aircraft such as the C-172, C-182, C-206, DA-20 and 40, T-1 T-6, T-38, AC-130U, CE-500, 65CA, 7AC, PA24, PA28, PA-44, and MU-7-235. He is a Certificated Flight Instructor, Commercial Multi-Engine Pilot, and is both Tail-wheel and Sea-plane rated.

Fav Airplane: Cessna 182 & DA-42

About: Jake began flying at age 17 in a Cessna 152. His career in the air was solidified the day his PPL instructor demonstrated spins. That same day he began the transfer from Missouri State University to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach where he graduated with a B.S Aeronautical Science followed by two and a half years as a flight instructor for ERAU’s Daytona campus. He holds CFI, CFII, and MEI certificates with over 1900 hours flight instruction.

Fav Airplane: BE-35 Bonanza

About: Paul learned to fly in Norway where he was born and raised. He had over 50 hours before his first landing on anything other than snow or ice. He has a BS degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Scandinavian Academy of Aeronautics in Sweden. He moved to the US in 1984 to pursue a career in aviation. Since then he's accrued over 28,000 hours in 60 different aircraft. He's been flying Boeing 737's for Southwest Airlines since 1994.