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offered before crediting a youth camp as the reason for his initial foray into aviation. “I went to Aviation Challenge, which is a flying version of Space Camp, when I was twelve or thirteen,” Isaacman noted before advising that his early start in the business world provided him the means and the inspiration to take to the skies.
“I got involved in business at a really young age and founded my company [Shift4: NYSE: FOUR] when I was sixteen. I found that I was burning myself out and needed more out of life. So, I started flying when I was twenty, which was twenty years ago. It has just been fantas- tic ever since.”
Now, Isaacman is an ATP-rated CFI with five business jet type ratings, in addition to six experimental military aircraft ratings. Without question, he is a passionate aviator through and through and is quick to talk about all things aviation.
“A Cessna 182 Turbo is what I learned to fly in, and I flew that to get my private and instrument. From there, I flew a G58 Baron to get my commercial and my multi- engine and accumulated hours to start flying jets. As soon as I had about 600 hours, I started flying a Citation 650, then a Citation Mustang. From there, I’ve flown every- thing in the CJ family – the 1, 2, 3, and the 4,” he said, also noting that he has flown the Beechcraft Premier as well.
A majority of Isaacman’s straight-and-level flying has been behind the yokes of Citations. He currently owns a 2012 Citation CJ4, that he purchased in March of 2023. The ability to continue moving up within one product family was a huge advantage for the time-crunched avia- tor and helped drive the buying decision, he explained.
“Part of it [deciding to get a CJ4] is that already having the type rating makes it very easy to pick it up again versus setting aside the time to learn and get checked out in a new platform. I’ve had the 525 rating for a very long time and had probably 3,000 CJ flight hours across the various platforms before stepping into the CJ4. So, it was pretty easy to adapt to it.”
Whenever asked about aircraft he’s flown, Isaacman quickly makes it clear that Citations are thoroughbreds. He contends that there are some hallmark distinctions of the product family, which make them great options for current and potential jet owners.
“I think the whole CJ family is awesome. The CJ2 is an incredible step up from the CJ1. The CJ3 was a great step up from the CJ2, just in terms of performance – payload, range, and speed. Then the CJ4 gives you more payload and it gives you more speed. That’s really the only differ- ence between the CJ3 and the CJ4. And really, for that matter, between the CJ2 – because the CJ2 and CJ3 are very close to each other in that regard. In the CJ4, you’re going across the country at Mach .76 instead of .72, so that’s nice. It also has more payload, so you can have more passengers when you fully fuel it. The predominant difference, though, is that it’s faster,” he stated.
“Other than that, its range is essentially the same as the CJ3 and the cabin is a touch bigger. But I think the
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May 2024 / TWIN & TURBINE • 13