Volume 7, Issue 7 | July 2024

A&P Graduation in New Smyrna Beach

Friends and families joined our aircraft mechanic students on June 6th for a graduation ceremony. Students completed their 19-month FAA-approved training and are now Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Aircraft Mechanics. We celebrate these students and wish them all the best in their new careers.

New Students in June

Welcome to our newest class of flight students (above). They have completed orientation and are now busy earning their wings. We invite you to come by any of our campuses and take a Discovery Flight and tour to see if you’d like to become an Epic pilot. A new class of Aircraft Mechanic students (below) completed orientation in June and are now working on their General Technician course. We are thrilled to welcome these new flight students and aircraft mechanic students to Epic!

Upcoming Events

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Open House at the CVG Airport last month (above). The event was such a success, we’re planning another on July 26th. We’re also excited to host a Ribbon-Cutting event at our newest flight school on July 12th in Jacksonville. You are invited to join us!

• Friday, July 12 – RIBBON-CUTTING Event at our Jacksonville, FL flight school
• Friday, July 26 – OPEN HOUSE at our Erlanger, KY aircraft mechanic school
• Saturday, November 9 – 9th Annual Aviation Scholarships & Career Fair

Epic Alumni News: Career Updates

We love hearing and sharing success stories from our graduates! Did you train at Epic? If so, please send us a career update! Check out the latest news from these Epic pilots…

Epic graduate Captain Lauren Hensel flew her first “unmanned” crew with American Airlines! Great job, ladies! The photo was taken at Miami International Airport onboard the crew’s B737.

Jonathan Toto of Madagascar is a First Officer at HFF Travel Airways. He flies the C208B EX and shared this remembrance of his training at Epic: “Really enjoyed my training at Epic, from my very first flight on the 172 to my Multi-Engine checkride! It was a joy to learn how to fly there as you felt part of a big family with the team, from dispatch to the linesmen and the instructors to the course managers being always so welcoming, understanding, and helpful. Looking forward to landing once again at KEVB one day!” 

Andrew Himmelreich is an Epic graduate who is now a First Officer flying the CL-65 (CRJ 700/900) for Endeavor Air. Andrew earned his IR, CSEL, CFI, and CFII ratings at Epic and had this to say about his time here: “It was fantastic… Epic prepared me to be a CFI and an airline pilot. I’ve recommended Epic to many others aspiring pilots and I will continue to do so.”

Mitchell Nathan was an Epic scholarship winner in 2017. He earned his PPL here in 2018, graduated from Georgia Tech, and is now working at Boeing within the propulsion group in Charleston, SC. He said, “Getting my PPL at Epic was one of the very beginning steps in my career in aviation and it undoubtedly laid the foundation for everything that came after. I am super thankful for the opportunities and learning experiences that have stemmed from Epic and wouldn’t be where I am today without them!”

Jeremy Hall is now a First Officer flying the Embraer 195-E2 with Porter Airlines and is also the founder of Pilots4Paws, a volunteer-run non-profit providing free flights to animal rescues. He is also the president and co-founder of Red Beacon Aeronautical. Jeremy also shared this great story: “I recently flew with a Ukrainian Captain who left due to the war. It came up in conversation that he also trained at Epic in 2012! What a crazy way to find himself in the flight deck with another Epic grad. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a selfie!”

Hard work and determination lead to such success stories. We are proud of these Epic pilots and wish them all the best!

Captain Judy Rice’s Memoir

From 2017 until 2023, Captain Judy Rice taught Private Pilot Ground School at Epic before she retired due to health reasons. But before she arrived at Epic, “Captain Judy” had already made quite a name for herself in aviation, including setting a world speed record and flying around the world accompanied by astronaut Dr. Buzz Aldrin.

She has recently published her memoir, which includes photos and memories of her flying career, including her time at Epic. It’s a great read, and we invite you to order a copy and see for yourself!

Employee Updates

Welcome to these new Epic crew members at the New Smyrna Beach campus! Michael Azarian, an Epic graduate, is our newest instructor in the Aircraft Mechanic Program; Carson Hobin has joined the ground support team; Somer Mason came on board to transport Epic students; Emma Perna is interning at Epic this summer with the social media team; and Kylie Pearson is our newest dispatcher. We welcome them to the Epic family!

Student Appreciation Day

Flight students at our Tucson, Arizona campus enjoyed Student Appreciation Day last month. It’s hard to beat food and flying! And we really do love our students!

Epic Outreach and Airline News

Epic had a busy month with outreach and field trips. Flight instructors Hannah Gardner and Woods Collins represented Epic at the Boys Town Career Fair in Tallahassee last month. We also welcomed students and teachers from Forest Lake Elementary School (pictured). The outreach team also visited the summer program sponsored by Robert B. Griffin Chapter of Florida’s Black Pilots of America in Daytona and then welcomed them to campus for a tour. We love working with our community and invite you to plan a field trip or school visit school at any of our 7 locations. We also welcomed representatives from CommuteAir for a career seminar at our Ocala campus, and Silver Airways visited the Tallahassee and New Smyrna Beach campuses to officially welcome Greg Sheppard (TLH), Dana McGowen (EVB) and Joe Brown (EVB)  to the Sterling Silver Program. 

Aircraft Mechanic Passes

These aircraft mechanic students passed their FAA Powerplant Exams in June and have completed the A&P Program at Epic:

Halen Ashley
Joseph Blankenship
Christian Carroll
Richard Dietrich
Zackary Johnson
Christian Vega
Tyler Visscher 

Pilot Check Rides

Ana Vazquez  passed her PPL check ride on her first attempt last month. She is pictured with her flight instructor, Bryan Cintron.

These flight students passed check rides on their first attempt in June!

Private Pilot   

Sydney Elizabeth Payne
Nathan Phillip Humbert
Noah Keith Noonan (OCF)
Barrington Terelle Quashie
Matthew Dante Marconi
Cody Angus Steinmetz (TLH)
Emily Anne Judd
Sean Cooper Hawkins
Matthew Allen Navigato (OCF)
Ana Constanza Vazquez Martinez
Cali Luying Kief
Jaden Lee Gibson
Dalila Ivonne Ramos
Ryan David Hansen
Ansel Scott Utz

Instrument Rating   

Aiden Patrick Griffin
Ana Clara Pita Duarte
David Sandoval
Preet Piyushkumar Patel
Melany Italia Gabrielli
Ulric Keshawn Jarvis Jr
Andrew Tracey Shepard

Commercial Single-Engine   

Logan Thomas Ahlers
Justin Sosa
Vincent James Rubio Jr
Samia Naushin Shara
Thomas Hubert Dollar III (TLH)
Tanat Kongkam
Oleksiy Volodin
Brian Scott Grainger
Kelvin Joel Hernandez Vega (OCF)
Jake Walter Weiland
Alec Victor Dufour
Sebastian Robert Oshiro Doroba 

Commercial Multi-Engine

Brendan Jack Kenny
Ethan Wayne Lentz
Shannon Caroline Kelly
Chyenne Elizabeth Brewer
Mason Ray Harmon

Certified Flight Instructor

Elizabeth Marie Demain
Yu-Cheng Chiang
Karina Marie Ortiz Munoz
Jeremy Alan Daubner
Nevada Pierce Randall
Clementine Justena Craft
Sariann Ortiz Bezares
Yesenia Thays Gonzalez

Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument

Anastasia Ceca Lasic
Giovanni James Branaugh
James Octavius Demarco

Multi-Engine Flight Instructor

Bryan David Cintron Nieves
Ryan Christopher Adams
Bill Deng Pan
Leah Denise Jaicks

FUN FACT: Did you know that Flying Magazine named Epic Flight Academy one of the 5 best flight schools in Florida?