Why I Became a Flight Instructor — and What It Means for You

The story behind Harvey Aviation

People don't really choose a flight instructor off a list of credentials. They choose someone they trust to teach them something hard, a little scary, and genuinely life-changing. So before you decide whether to fly with me, I think you deserve to know who I am and why I do this.

I'm Barrett, the founder of Harvey Aviation.

It started with machines

I grew up in South Texas around hard work — my dad owns an oil and gas company, and getting your hands dirty was just part of life. For as long as I can remember, I've had a connection with machinery, a feel for how machines work and how they respond to you. To me, an airplane is the ultimate machine, and flying it is the ultimate way to operate one. That's what pulled me into aviation: the idea of becoming the ultimate operator. I'm not afraid of a hard problem or a little grease under my fingernails, and that's exactly how I approach both flying my airplane and maintaining it myself.

The instructor who shaped how I teach

My second flight instructor, a man named George, changed how I think about teaching to this day. He had a way of being what I've come to call a “velvet brick.” He was firm and steady on the inside, but he never taught with heavy blows that knock a student down. He was patient. He was kind. He was genuinely interested in me and curious about how I learned best. That combination — strong but gentle — is exactly the kind of instructor I decided I wanted to become.

For me, that approach runs deeper than technique. It's the way I believe we're meant to treat people — with patience, steadiness, and real care — and for me it's rooted in my faith. Whatever you believe, that's what you'll get from me in the cockpit: someone firmly in your corner, firm enough to keep you safe and kind enough to keep it enjoyable.

What I bring to your training

On paper, I hold my Certified Flight Instructor certificate along with Commercial Single-Engine and Multi-Engine licenses and an Instrument rating. But the part I'm proudest of is the hands-on side: I own and personally maintain the airplane you'll train in, so I know it down to the smallest detail. When your instructor knows the airplane that intimately, you learn faster and you fly safer.

What it means for you

When you train with Harvey Aviation, you're not a slot on a schedule or a name on a fleet board. You get one instructor who actually knows you, one airplane I care for with my own hands, and a teaching style built to be firm enough to make you a confident, capable pilot — and kind enough that you'll be glad you started.

Come fly with me

I'd genuinely love to meet you and take you up. A discovery flight with Harvey Aviation starts at $199 — just fill out the discovery flight form on our site, and I'll personally give you a call.

Harvey Aviation offers one-on-one private and commercial flight instruction and discovery flights out of Propwash Airport in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Discovery flights start at $199.