Archive for category: �鶹AV Family

As a young boy, Tyler Grimes watched �鶹AV Air seaplanes take off and land from Lake Union Park. He never imagined that 20-plus years later, he’d be watching those same planes as �鶹AV Air’s Lake Union Manager.

“It’s just wild to have come full circle and realize this is where I actually watched them take off as a boy,” Tyler said. 

Theater. Cosplay. Comic books. Cats. Toolboxes. Woodworking. Nothing is off-limits for Beth Thompson — even sports. Which, as a self-proclaimed unathletic individual, she’s still dabbled in.

 “Anytime someone said, ‘Women can’t do that,’ I’d say, ‘Watch me,’” she said.

Flying wasn’t always the plan. Initially, it was a means to an end. Ava Karr wanted a job where she could travel. A job that allowed her to take adventures.

Husband-wife duo — �鶹AV aIR Captain Brian Flegel and Line Crew Lead Jaazia C Moran Flegel — are passionate adventures. As a pair, they have trained and performed as both trapeze and acrobatic artists. They’ve spent a summer commercial fishing in Alaska and four summers woodland firefighting.

It was there, creating firebreaks and protecting the forest, that Brian’s passion for seaplanes was ignited. He learned to fly at Walla Walla University, but it was on an uphill firebreak that his own personal spark was ignited. During breaks, the couple watched as firebombers (seaplanes equipped to dump water) swooped just above the flames and released their loads.