Justin, a Marshall County native, was first introduced to aviation as a child. He was fortunate enough to go on a few trips with family on an airline and remembers taking flights to Orlando, Cleveland, and San Francisco and always being filled with a sense of wonder. When in high school, his father got his private pilot certificate, which was his first introduction to General Aviation. His father and a friend purchased a Cessna 150 and a Cessna 172, and would rent them out at the Mayfield Airport but ultimately sold both planes after 9/11 due to decrease in rentals.

 

In 2018, his wife’s cousin flew in from Texas to a family reunion. After conversations with her cousin, a spark ignited that eventually turned into a fire. He reached out to his father’s former instructor, Ms. Teri Lampkins, who agreed to take him as a student. His father gave him his old David Clark headset, his E6B, and his plotter, and Justin started knocking out the requirements to get his private pilot certificate.

 

Justin’s teaching philosophy is to crawl, walk, run. With him you will start simple and build the skills necessary to perform more complex tasks.  His advice is to do your homework as it’s impossible to be the best pilot you can be without studying. Also he says to “have fun, how cool is it to be able to fly”?!

 

His favorite moment in aviation so far was when he ferried a small plane in early 2022 from Pasco, WA to Murray, KY. He states it was a beautiful trip as he was able to see the stark contrast of the changing terrain through multiple states.

 

His dream aircraft is a Grumman Tiger because  “they are just cool planes.” However, he says that he is happy with anything he is flying, as long as he’s in the air.

 

When asked where he would go for his last flight and what he would fly he said:

“That’s a hard one—I don’t know the destination would be as important as who I’m with. I’d say something I could fit my wife and kids in and could take a trip to the mountains. That’d be hard to beat.”