Citation Pilot – Massachusetts

Shane Schmidt’s career in business aviation began 17 years ago with a gift from his wife. 

“I had always enjoyed flight simulation on the computer,” Shane recalled in a recent interview. “On one of our dates back in 2008, Leigh gave me a discovery flight as a gift. It was the kind of experience where the flight instructor takes you up in the airplane for 20 minutes. You get to sit in the left seat and they sit in the right seat and you actually get to fly the airplane. That was my first experience being up front flying, and as soon as the wheels left the dirt, I was smitten. I couldn’t think about anything else after that. Leigh is wholly responsible for my addiction to aviation.”

Back then, Shane was working as a mail carrier in Austin, plodding a neighborhood route during the day and crafting an internet flight simulator show, “Ten-Minute Taxi,” in his off-hours. “I had been doing some online streaming on YouTube and it gained a lot of popularity and so I had companies sending me flight simulation gear to play with on the computer. It was something I just did on the side, and it was a lot of fun,” he said.

Shane was hanging out at a flight school when he got his first big break.  The owner recognized Shane from YouTube and happened to be a big fan.

“We’d like you to be our test student, and we will pay for your private pilot certificate if you do it,” the school’s leaders offered. “Am I going to say no to that? Absolutely not. So, they paid for my entire private pilot cert and I ended up being one of the first student pilots for Redbird Flight Simulations in Austin.”

His career in the virtual world led directly to a career in the real world. He and Leigh moved to Denver amid COVID and she began working from home as a nurse educator, but had family in the Massachusetts area.  During their time in Denver, Shane worked full time flying Twin Otters and also did some contract work on Citation Jets.

Shane found JetPro Pilots recruiter Seth Roberts online and they began working on his next opportunity in professional aviation. It wasn’t long before Seth had a request from a Massachusetts-area client looking for a mature First Officer, and Shane’s experience, professionalism, and deep passion for aviation was a great match.

“Seth asked me if I was available,” Shane said. “I said yes, and he responded, ‘Give me 15 minutes.’ And I said, ‘You got to be kidding me!'”  

He wasn’t kidding.  Within his role at JetPro, Seth is focused on recruiting and often responds in real-time, both to clients and crew members, and in turn, got back to Shane right away. 

Interviews were set up, including a couple of on-site visits with key decision makers.  An offer was made, accepted, and Shane was sent to First Officer training on the Citation Excel.  This opportunity allowed Leigh to move closer her family in Massachusetts, and it also gave Shane the opportunity to fly with a reputable operation in the area on a corporate jet. Since last November, Shane has been flying throughout North America for his new employer.

“This is the best possible scenario I could have found,” Shane declared. “And it’s because of Seth and JetPro. For real. Seriously. The whole way.”