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If you take a quick look at the Dynamic Aviation website, you’ll find the following vast fleet lineup: 124 Beechcraft King Airs, 15 De Havilland Dash-8s, four Boeing 737s, and a fleet of 10 vintage aircraft, including “Miss Virginia,” the most pristine DC-3 in the world, and the aforementioned first Air Force One.
Karl’s son Michael Stoltzfus now owns Dynamic Aviation and has been its president and CEO since 2006. He has founded, co-founded, operated and co-created multiple businesses primarily in the aerospace and defense indus- try. Michael joined Dynamic Aviation in 1990 and has held various roles in flight operations and business development throughout his tenure. He holds an airline transport pilot rating, multiple type ratings (including the DC-3 and the Super DC-3), and has flown over 6,000 hours in over 10 countries. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization and Tiger 21 and has served on the boards and advisory councils of multiple non-profit organizations. Michael attended Eastern Mennonite University and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, through which he has completed multiple executive education programs, including HBS’s Owner-President Management course.
In the last couple of years, Michael, like many others, saw a need to bring young, enthusiastic aviation profes- sionals into our industry. So, he developed a new program called NEXTGEN Aviators. Taking place at local airports,
it introduces, informs, ignites, and inspires young adults about the world of the technical aviation workforce. Michael describes the program, “When you bring your students to a NEXTGEN Aviators event, they perform hands-on activities based on real-life applications. As we guide them through a series of experiences encompassing several aviation careers, students are intrigued by engineering and design. Some are fascinated by metalworking or electronics. The art of aeronautics will engage others as they fly the simulator or experience the exhilaration of flight for the first time.”
From “Airplane Chris” innovating in small-town Penn- sylvania to Karl building a legacy in Virginia, we can only imagine where Michael is going to take the Stoltzfus fam- ily’s birthright. He has already taken Dynamic Aviation to places his dad and granddad never even dreamed of, and now his team is enriching the whole industry by awaken- ing a new interest in aviation within young kids. We wish Dynamic Aviation, NEXTGEN Aviators and the Stoltzfus family continued success.
Lance Phillips is an aviation professional, writer, pilot and photographer. He is executive director for the Pinnacle Air Net- work and owns Phillips Aero Services, an aviation marketing services provider. You can contact Lance at lance@phillip- saeroservices.com.
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