Russell Aviation is a family-owned and operated business located in the Arkansas Valley, of Colorado. Founder and owner Mickey Russell was a senior at Valdez High School in Valdez, Alaska, when he first learned about flying. Like many young men, his aviation career plan involved becoming an Alaskan bush pilot or airline pilot. Unfortunately, at that time airline jobs were almost impossible to get. After years of dreaming about flying, Russell became determined to get his Private Pilot certificate (the movie "Top Gun" may have fueled his desire . . .) He finished his Private Pilot training (1986) using one instructor with one-on-one training. It was one of the most enjoyable times in his life. He also spent five weeks training in a DC-10 at United Flight Training Center. Mickey is a Captain in the US Air Force Auxiliary - Civil Air Patrol - Rocky Mountain Wing. He also has served on the Buena Vista Airport Advisory Board and was an AOPA Airport Support Network Representative.
He started selling aircraft in 1986 after developing the first aircraft listing service, called Flight Star. This was the first dial-up computerized aircraft listing service in the country. He continued to sell aircraft until 1994 when he finished his degree in Aviation.
Mickey graduated in 1994 from Metropolitan State College of Denver with a degree in Aerospace Science and was hired by the college one week later to continue the work he had begun on the school's program. He was responsible for oversight of an FAA grant that was used for upgrading and adding to the Flight Simulation Lab and DC-10, Beech 1900 and Piper Navajo flight simulator at the college.
Articles about these and other aviation accomplishments were published in several magazines, newspapers and through TV news coverage. These include the Dallas Morning News, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, LA Times, The New York Daily News, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, CNN and General Aviation News Magazine and Aviation Week and Space Technology. Russell left Metropolitan State College of Denver in 1999 to start Russell Aviation.
Mickeys specific aircraft qualifications and training Include:
Diamond Star DA-40 (Factory Trained Flight Instructor Course)
Diamond Star DA-42 Twin Star Cessna 150/152, 172, 172RG, 177, 177RG, 182, 182RG, 185, 210 and 310 Beechcraft, Sierra, Sundowner, Duchess BE76/Travelair BE95, Baron 55/58P Mitsubishi MU-2 Mooney (all models) Grumman AA5B Tiger and AA5A Cheetah Piper Warrior, Archer, Lance, Apache, Geronimo, Aztec, Seminole and Navajo DC-10-30, B-757, B-727 Airliner
Mickey Russell is a CFI/CFII and MEI with over 3,300 hours of flight time - plus 1,500 dual and 10,000+ simulator instruction hours.
Mickey spends his non-flying hours with his wife, Cara, and his son, Casey. Cara is the executive director of the Chaffee County Peoples Clinic and the former Town of Buena Vista's Mayor, Cara is currently running for County Clerk for Chaffee County Colorado. You can read about Cara on Wikipedia and her website http://www.cararussell.com
The Russell's have also founded a non-profit animal welfare transportation organization that helps transport animals around the country. Please visit the Sky Ark website for more information.
The hallmarks of Russell Aviation are customer service and value for your dollar. We continually look for ways to provide quality service without charging exorbitant rates. We have found that treating people with respect and a large dose of fun while flying and providing quality service leads to solid customer satisfaction.
All Russell Aviation flight instructors are hand selected by Mickey Russell and must not only meet FAA standards, but understand and agree with Russell Aviation Teaching Philosophy. We currently have an average among our instructors of over 10,000 hours of dual given by our instructors.
A Few Photos....
Mickey and Clay Lacy in Page Arizona Cara Russell Mickey Russell
