Greg Koontz learned to fly in 1969, getting his Private Pilot Certificate when he turned 17 years old. In his senior year of high school, Greg restored a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub in his mother's garage and flew the antique plane for 300 hours to gain experience for a flying career. Before turning 18, he sold his Piper Cub, using the money to take lessons for his commercial pilot certificate and all of the pilot ratings he would need to pursue the pilot profession. Well before that birthday, Greg was working as a flight instructor and attending Business College at the University of Montevallo in Alabama.
At age 20, Greg got his start in the airshow business when he bought another Piper Cub from Ernie Moser in St. Augustine, Florida. Soon Ernie was calling Greg wanting to borrow back the Cub to use it in his traveling airshow called Ernie Moser's Flying Circus. Greg agreed to lend Ernie the use of the Cub if he could perform in the airshow doing a comedy act, Ernie agreed and after the first show, Greg was hired to perform in all of the shows that the flying circus did. Greg was soon working full time for Ernie Moser and his son Jim Moser living in St. Augustine, FL. As the years went by, he learned more aerobatics and other airshow skills. Ernie let Greg perform his famous "World's Smallest Airport" stunt where he lands on a moving pickup truck. Jim Moser taught him how to perform low level aerobatics in the Great Lakes Bi-Plane and later in the Super Decathlon. Greg stayed with the flying circus until deciding it was time to get "serious work" and pursue a corporate flying career in 1981.
Until 2002, Greg flew jet aircraft for a corporation in Alabama and performed airshows in his spare time. Greg is known throughout the USA and parts of Latin America as the foremost authority on the Super Decathlon aircraft. Besides doing an inverted ribbon cut 15 feet above the ground in airshows, Greg specializes in teaching pilots how to fly aerobatics in his Super Decathlon.
Today, Greg is a full time airshow and aerobatics professional. Greg and his wife Cora run a Bed & Breakfast on a private grass strip in Ashville, AL. The B&B is home for Greg's busy aerobatic school and airshow business. Since 2003 he has been sponsored by American Champion Aircraft which supplies him with new Super Decathlons to demonstrate in front of millions of people each year. You can find more about Greg Koontz Airshows and how you might learn aerobatics at his B&B by checking out www.gkairshows.com