“You want to start flying?”
Ron Kelly jokingly invites me to learn to pilot an aircraft as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. The CEO of the Las Vegas Flight Academy talks to young people all the time about careers in aviation. It’s part of the outreach he does with his new nonprofit the Minority Pilot Advancement Foundation.
For some kids, it’s a question that can change the trajectory of their life. And, compared to five years ago, it’s a goal that is easier to attain after several commercial airlines dropped the requirement for a four-year college degree.
“We started talking to kids and going around to different schools. … We told these kids, ‘You need a high school degree. And if you graduate, did you know you can become a pilot?’” Kelly says. “These kids were almost in tears saying, ‘I’ve never been in an airplane … and never thought it would be a possibility for me to fly one of those things.’”
Kelly launched the Minority Pilot Advancement Foundation at the February 24 grand reopening of the Las Vegas Flight Academy. The nonprofit’s goal is to bring 600 minority and women pilots into the industry each year, and help alleviate the nationwide pilot shortage.
“We let them know that they can do it, and it changes everything.”
Las Vegas Flight Academy was built from the remnants of Pan Am International Flight Academy. What’s the story there?
I became very successful as a real estate guy, which is how I ended up building this building in the first place. I built the building back in 2005 and Pan Am [International Flight Academy] was my tenant. … Let me put it this way: an insider took the company down and then flipped it to his friends. His friends became [like] Larry the Liquidator. … In 2020, I bought out the assets of Pan Am’s Las Vegas operation, and I now run it under Las Vegas Flight Academy.
At the grand reopening of the Las Vegas Flight Academy, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded you the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of safe flying. How did that feel?
It’s awesome. I mean, it wasn’t something I was looking for or expecting. … I’d seen it along the way, but I never thought I’d be one of those guys getting it.
Why did you decide to start the Minority Pilot Advancement Foundation?
I’ve been very aware, obviously, of the issues with the airlines. We had a [pilot] shortage prior to COVID. … Now, the people start flying or flying in levels way above pre-COVID time. And the problem is now, we have this extreme shortage of pilots.
So the airlines for the first time in history have now stopped requiring that you have a four-year degree. And that got me thinking, because most people don’t realize that the average airline pilot makes over $200,000 a year. They only work 15 days a month. And they have fantastic benefits. And without having the need for a four-year degree, that opens the doors to a lot of kids who didn’t even know that this was a possibility for them.
We can take these kids from lower socioeconomic areas and teach them to become a pilot. … If you give these kids a reason, a goal to finish high school and really pay attention, I think that through our foundation, we’re going to have more kids graduate. And secondly, we’re changing these kids’ lives because … those kids will get a great job, which will allow them to move into better areas. Their kids will go to better schools. Basically, we’re doing generational change.
Where will students in the foundation attend aviation school?
We started a school down in French Valley [California] where we do actual primary flight training. It’s the Flight Venture Aviation Academy in Temecula. And our goal is to raise the funds to train these kids. And then we’ve got a school to put them through, and then we’ll get them into the airlines. The airlines already say, “We’ll take your kids.”
What inspired you to become a pilot?
I’ve always been enamored with flying. Since I can remember, I’ve been interested. … Fortunately, my dad took me to see the Point Mugu airshow and I saw the Blue Angels fly. And that was it. That’s all I ever wanted to do.
What qualities does a pilot need? How do you know when you have the makings of a good pilot?
You know for sure if you want to be a pilot. You either really like it or you don’t. When I fly off to Vegas to do work or to have meetings and such at my facility, I always try to take a kid with me. And I can tell you the ones [who want to do this], they’re the ones that when they land, that’s all they talk about. It’s all we want to do.
Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!
