Trey Walters of Blue Line Aviation on Modern Flight Training, Challenging the Status Quo, and Building a Career on Faith and Work Ethic

As part of our series about “The Future Of Aviation”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Trey Walters, CEO The Blue Line Companies.

Trey Walters and his wife, Kelsey, started Blue Line Aviation with one goal: to provide the highest quality flight instruction for your dollar. Trey is a decorated Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and former Raleigh Police Officer. Trey is an FAA Safety Representative and also holds multiple ratings including Instrument Ground Instructor, Gold Seal Flight Instructor Airplane Single Engine, Multi-Engine, and Instrument instructor certifications.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I started Blue Line, with the support of my wife, in 2012 after seeing a significant need for a higher quality flight school. Over time, the need for career-focused training providers became apparent, and we shifted to focusing on that.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Too much to type on this one. Generally, I’d say that we have been able to positively impact many people and the industry

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Thinking that two planes was enough.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I have to give credit to God, who is the only possible explanation for our success. I had no experience and no money when we started and this company has grown far beyond my own capabilities. We have met a lot of people along the way, at just the right time, who helped guide and direct us to where we are today. I continue to make new contacts that help us get to the next stage.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Faith- I have strong faith in God that lets me make bold decisions quickly.
2. Determination- When I say I’m going to do something, I do it… except eating less… I like food too much for that one.
3. Work ethic- I will work as hard and as long as it takes to deliver results.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a bit about the innovations that you are bringing to the Aviation and Air Travel industries?

We are capable of delivering the most efficient, highest quality training program in existence. We are focused on taking a new, modern, well-managed approach to safe flight training.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing these innovations?

Strangely, lack of resources in the industry, such as pilot examiners, as well as lack of work ethic with students. These are our largest hurdles that we have to constantly overcome.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

I constantly challenge the status quo and have become quite famous on reddit as a result

My expertise is in product security, so I’m particularly interested in this question. Recently there were famous cases of hackers breaking into the software running automobiles, for ransomware or for other malicious purposes. Based on your experience, what should aviation companies do to uncover vulnerabilities in the development process to safeguard their vehicles and aircraft?

Aircraft aren’t too vulnerable, in my opinion… or, at least ours are not…

Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career In The Aviation Industry?

1. Passion- It’s hard in the beginning. You have to want it BAD.
2. Work Ethic- Nothing can be bought. You have to put in the work.
3. Self-Discipline- Similar to focus, you have to be disciplined enough to always do it the right way.
4. Focus- It’s easy to fantasize about the future.
5. Professionalism — lives are in your hands.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

1. I’d like Blue Line to be more God-focused, as He can do the most to change lives for the better.
2. Secondarily, i think we have the opportunity to impact the FAA in a number of positive ways related to their policy and how they operate.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I have a social media platform with a small following but haven’t decided yet how I will use that moving forward.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.

About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.