Like every other industry, the world of aviation has undergone significant challenges and changes since the onslaught of the global pandemic of 2020.

“We are all one aviation ecosystem, and we are interdependent on one another,” noted Christa Lucas, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) senior vice president of government affairs, in an online forum for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) annual conference. "The general aviation airports, the businesses, the flight schools, the FBOs it’s all connected, and COVID19 has had a dire effect on our industry."

In a rare oncamera interview and profile, Levi Stockton, president and founder of Hawthorne, Californiabased Advanced Air, LLC addressed some of Lucas's concerns as he provides a firsthand account of who is traveling now. “We’re seeing more charters. We’re not seeing as much of the business travel of the corporate company. We’re seeing a lot more of the traveler that knows this is an option and is shying away from the airlines or the airlines are no longer servicing where they need to go.”

Stockton, a towering figure, has been flying planes since high school. Raised primarily by his mother, Stockton and his sister were shuttled between his mom’s house in Poulsbo, Washington where they grew up, and Fairbanks, Alaska where their father lived. “As a kid, my sister and I would get the unaccompanied minor sticker, and the flight attendant would walk us on the airplane and we’d get to see the cockpit and see the captain and the copilot. And so at a young age, I knew that's what I wanted to do my original goal was to work for Alaska Airlines. That was the path I started to go down,” recalled Stockton.

Stockton’s parents were 100 percent in support of their son's goal to become a pilot. “My dad bought a small singleengine piston airplane when I was 13 so I kinda started riding around in that to get the feel for it,” Stockton remembered.

And get the feel for it, Stockton did. “My mom supported it. She worked two jobs and said, 'You’re going to go to school' and right out of high school I went to flight school.”

A naturalborn adventurer, Stockton admits his early days of flying were viewed as fun. “I moved away from home and was on the road. I first started flight school in Oklahoma and then I moved to one in Northern California, Oakland. I was excited and so eager. I was confused why everyone wasn't being a pilot.”

At the age of 20 Stockton had earned his pilot's license and was a certified flight instructor teaching in both the Air China and Korean Air programs.