It’s 8 a.m. and the Mt. Sterling landscape stretches for miles before the horizon. The sun streams in the cockpit windows as pilot Devean Teasley, 25, leans forward to adjust the controls and turns to the flight student next to him to make sure he’s completed the pre-flight inspection checklist properly.
“It’s close to as being a bird, I think, as possible,” says Jordan Heil, 29, of Louisville. “I think I forget about everything else. Flying is pretty awesome.”
He has been taking lessons at the Mount Sterling-Montgomery County Airport with Devean for more than six months.
The airport is managed by Kentucky Airmotive, Inc., a airport management company owned by Daniel and Lisa Hill. They purchased the company in 1992 from Danny’s father, pilot Ronald Hill, 80, a Mt. Sterling resident for more than 40 years.
Under Danny’s management, a runway expansion was completed, opening up the possibility to serve larger aircraft and fulfill a vision for growth.
“It started off small and we just kept growing it and doing more things and hiring more people,” Danny says.
Flight school, passenger and freight charter service, avionics repair, aircraft maintenance, aircraft leasing, contract fueling, aerial photography, airplane storage and a “call when needed” contract with the U.S. Forest Service and Kentucky Division of Forestry are among the many services offered by Kentucky Airmotive.
“I’m really proud of Danny for making it the airport that it is,” says Lisa, who handles all the company’s finances.
While much of the team goes about their daily tasks independently, a spirit of camaraderie can be felt at the airport.
Jay Jones, a flight line attendant and former Air Evac Lifeteam pilot at the airport, has a simple explanation as to why he loves being there.
“We are like family,” he says. “Anywhere else I’ve ever been, there’s been a small percentage of people that don’t want to get along with other people, or they don’t want to do their job and consequently other people have to chip in. It’s not like that here. Everybody works together. Pulling for a common cause.”