Palmetto Air Service is its people. We are dedicated to giving you the best and most thorough flight instruction possible, and we like to have fun while doing so.

Palmetto Air Service was founded in 1968 by just-retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Haywood (Woody) Faison, who was looking for a way to keep doing what he'd been doing -- flying. He first soloed in 1936, and never spent much time away from airplanes after that.

In recognition of his long service to aviation, the South Carolina Aviation Association honored Woody with induction into the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999. The Charleston County Aviation Authority and the Town of Mount Pleasant named the access road to the East Cooper Airport after him in 2001. Most recently, the Aviation Authority voted to rename the airport Faison Field in his honor.

Woody died in 2007 after a short bout with pneumonia. We miss his sure touch on the controls, his unflappable enthusiasm in the airplane, and the knowledge and wisdom he was so generous to share. His legacy and his company live on. Please click here for our tribute to Woody.

Edna Young came to the company after a varied career as a college professor, technical librarian, pipe organ designer and builder, translator, and writer. An Air Force brat, she declared (at the ripe age of three) to the assembled dignitaries at her parents' party that SHE was going to fly airplanes too. She made it! Edna's a commercial pilot, Advanced Ground Instructor, and Instrument Ground Instructor, and is also the one with all the pink stripes on her hand tools. (Sorry, guys, but if you "borrow" my torque wrench, it's easy to find the filcher!) One glimpse at the working conditions at her last company and you can see why she came looking for the Big Sky.

Robin Hefka's real job is instructing for Palmetto Air Service, but he moonlights as a captain for a major US airline. He also flew C-141s for the US Air Force, which gives him fodder for a lot of great stories. He's got a wicked sense of humor and a wonderful way of explaining the oddities of aerial navigation. When he's not looking for his gate or waiting for a pushback, he spends his time restoring Very Ugly Cars. See what we mean?

Sam Hoerter has flown more hours than Edna, Robin, Rob, and Mike combined. However, most of those flights were logged while daydreaming in school or flying a desk (his favorite being a light oak, six-drawer model that handled crosswinds with ease. Seriously, after thirty years as a pilot and airport manager, Sam provides our students with the same insights from experience as our other instructors. . . and if you catch him on a good day, he may even loan you his Johnny Rocket flight helmet!

Rob Gilbert started his flying career at the age of 17, and earned his ratings at Middle Tennessee State University. The long hours fueling airplanes and sweeping hangars at the local FBO paid off when he was offered a first officer position flying Mitsubishi MU2s. He later hired on with Atlantic Coast Airlines where he served as captain, check airman, aircrew program designee, and instructor pilot. Rob came back to general aviation, his first love, after several years of flying Boeing 767s on international routes. He and co-founder Matt Blackburn have opened Charleston Flight Management., the area's only full service aircraft management company. When he's not out flying the King Air, Rob shares his knowledge and love of flying with our clients.

Mike McCurdy got his flying start at Palmetto Air Service, never dreaming he'd end up right where he started. After several years of flying for fun, the bug bit big-time and Mike quickly worked through his instrument and commercial certificates before heading south to Delta Connection Academy in Florida. He came home to Palmetto Air to do his first instructing, then completed a tour instructing at the Academy. Mike's back in town now and working at his second love, but he says he's always available to help out a student.

Rudder walked out of the woods a few days after the airport opened, skin, bones, and heartworm. Rudder became a fixture at PAS, and went with us on enough cross-countries that people still ask about her. We still miss her, and still find her tennis balls in odd places.

Waco came to take over Rudder's job in the summer of 2006. She'd spent a long time at the pound before she found a person she wanted to go home with (Woody). She's a true labrador retriever -- although she doesn't care a hoot about tennis balls unless they belong to someone else, she'll chase after her yellow lab pal Cheyenne and bring her back every time. She's happy to greet all comers with a wag and a lick and a good check to see if they have anything edible she can filch.

As ever, it's our students who make us what we are. Our graduates are instructing, flying for major and regional airlines, in the military, and serving as charter and corporate pilots. They're building airplanes, and they're flying for business instead of driving or riding. They're also flying their friends and families to places they might never get to otherwise. We'd love for you to join them.