Citation Pilot – Texas

Lars Sogaard’s two decades in the pilot’s seat have been full of ups and downs — and we’re not talking about takeoffs and landings.

Since 2022, Sogaard has flown exclusively for Leviate Air Group in Dallas after connecting with the company through JetPro Pilots’ JetPro Recruit program.  His principal responsibilities are as captain of the company’s Citation XLS fleet on private, business-related hops throughout North America.

“I’ve had a good career but it has not exactly been a straight path,” Lars said in a recent interview. That path began in his native Denmark and took him to a childhood in southern Spain then a journey to the heart of Texas with his parents and his two brothers. He received an academic scholarship to the University of the Incarnate Word, in San Antonio, to pursue a business degree he felt might come in handy while he realized his dream of becoming a professional tennis player.  He trained at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in nearby New Braunfels, Texas, but as things turned out, fate dictated that his next move would be onto a flight deck, not a tennis court.

“I remember in all my travels as a child between Europe and the U.S., being fascinated by what I saw,” he said. “I looked into aviation, took my discovery flight and that was all it took.”

Lars earned his private pilot’s license at age 20 from a Texas flight school. After the Incarnate Word tennis team reached the NCAA Finals in 2002 — his senior year — he hung up his tennis racquet. As he became licensed to fly larger aircraft he struggled to find satisfying work because he was not yet a U.S. citizen. Frustrated, he returned to Europe in 2006 and had to convert all his flight licenses from FAA to EASA standards to work in corporate aviation there. He took a brief detour into the construction business while wending his way through the licensing process.

“I received my first job in aviation in 2008, flying ambulance flights throughout Europe,” he said. “I did that for more than five years, then transitioned in 2013 to the VIP sector, flying high-net-worth clients throughout the Mediterranean region and Northern Europe.”

In 2014, he was based in Moscow for a year while still living in Denmark. He became an Electronic Flight Bag creator and administrator to create a paper-less EFB flight deck, took on additional duties in his employer’s sales and operations departments, while also serving as a training captain for new hires.

Six years later, Lars found himself in London as captain for a corporate fleet of four Citation XLS Series aircraft. He was working there when JetPro Pilots’ Aviation Recruiter Seth Roberts made contact with him via LinkedIn.

“He asked me if I might be interested in some jobs he had,” Lars recalled of their initial conversation.  “I was. And that’s how I wound up at Leviate, which has been great for me.”

Sogaard’s schedule these days allows him time to work toward his goal of U.S. citizenship, and though he is now based in Dallas, he still has family residing elsewhere in Texas.

“Along the way, I’ve learned that it takes focus, determination, and attention to detail to reach your career goals,” he said. “It has been an uphill climb, but my situation is very good now.”