LAUNCHPOINT AVIATION
LaunchPoint Aviation Group is building a practical path into aviation through flight training, education, and aviation heritage in the Ozarks.
Our planned initial flight-training program will focus on the sport-pilot certificate—a pathway that can make recreational aviation more attainable while preserving the preparation, discipline, and sound judgment that safe flying demands.
Our airport location, aircraft, instructors, schedule, and pricing are still being finalized. Join the 2027 Interest List to follow our development and be notified when enrollment becomes available.
Joining the interest list does not enroll you, reserve a training position, or create any obligation to purchase services.
A CLEAR DEPARTURE POINT
Learning to fly can seem complicated long before the first lesson begins.
LaunchPoint is being developed to give aspiring pilots a clear, safety-centered first step into aviation. Our planned initial program will focus specifically on the sport-pilot certificate so that curriculum, student communication, aircraft selection, and operating procedures can be built intentionally around the needs of new and returning recreational pilots.
Our objective is simple: make aviation easier to enter and understand without making it less demanding.
BUILT AROUND MORE THAN FLIGHT HOURS
Aviation is more than learning to manipulate the controls of an airplane. It rewards preparation, sound judgment, craftsmanship, curiosity, personal responsibility, and respect for limitations.
LaunchPoint is being built around three complementary ideas.
Create a clear path into aviation.
Useful education and thoughtful instruction can make a complicated field understandable without oversimplifying it. LaunchPoint seeks to help people take their first steps with confidence, realistic expectations, and respect for the responsibility that comes with flight.
Respect the discipline behind aviation.
Good aviation depends upon people willing to prepare carefully, work diligently, learn continually, and do things correctly even when shortcuts would be easier.
Use aviation history to inspire its future.
Historic aircraft and the people who flew, built, and maintained them have lessons still worth teaching. LaunchPoint believes responsible preservation can connect those stories with a new generation of pilots, mechanics, builders, historians, and aviation professionals.
AVIATION HERITAGE + EDUCATION
LaunchPoint is the steward of N8777B, the 1957 Cessna 172 that carried Jim Heth and Bill Burkhart through a 50-day endurance flight in 1958.
After more than two decades out of service, the aircraft is undergoing a deliberate, safety-first evaluation and restoration.
The project is about more than returning an airplane to the sky. The Old Scotchman creates an opportunity to connect nearly seventy years of aviation history with aircraft maintenance, engineering, regulation, craftsmanship, human factors, historical research, and the people who will shape aviation's next chapter.
Explore The Old Scotchman ProjectN8777B · ACQUIRED
The aircraft is not airworthy. Documentation, recovery planning, preservation, and controlled inspection are underway.
THE PATH IS EVOLVING
Recent changes to the federal sport-pilot framework have expanded the possibilities available to recreational pilots. LaunchPoint is being developed to help prospective students understand that pathway and determine whether sport-pilot training may fit their aviation goals.
Explore the Sport-Pilot PathTHE PRE-LAUNCH ROUTE
Tell us where you are located, your present aviation experience, and when you may want to begin training.
We will provide occasional updates as the airport, aircraft, instructors, and launch schedule are finalized.
Interest-list members will be notified when LaunchPoint is prepared to release final program information and begin accepting students.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT STATUS
LaunchPoint Aviation Group, LLC has been formed and is actively developing the proposed flight-training operation. The company is evaluating aircraft, insurance, airport arrangements, instructors, maintenance support, curriculum, and operational procedures.
Flight instruction is not currently available, and LaunchPoint is not accepting deposits or payments.
FOUNDED IN THE OZARKS
LaunchPoint was founded by Chad Mann, a Springfield attorney and active flight student whose interest in aviation began in childhood.
Alongside his flight training, Chad is building a Zenith aircraft and leading the responsible preservation and restoration of The Old Scotchman, N8777B. Those efforts reflect his commitment to careful work, stewardship, and creating opportunities for others to discover aviation.
For Chad, aviation has never been simply about owning an airplane or earning a certificate. It is about creating opportunities, preserving worthwhile things, doing difficult work well, and helping more people discover that a place in aviation may be within their reach.
Meet Our FounderKEEP YOUR PLACE ON THE MAP
Join the 2027 Interest List and be among the first to receive verified information as LaunchPoint moves toward opening.
This is an expression of interest—not enrollment, a reservation, or a payment obligation.