Jon Melby first learned to fly at age 8, when he created a pile of leaves in his Duluth, Minnesota lawn, climbed onto the roof of his 2 story home, and jumped like a bird into the leaves.

At the age of 12, he had the opportunity to meet the legendary airshow pilot Bob Hoover at a local airshow.  Bob Hoover’s sincerity and great personality gave Jon the inspiration to pursue his dream of flying. When he was financially able, Jon made it a goal to achieve his solo in a glider before his 16th birthday. In only 8 flights, he achieved his goal by riding his bicycle 45 miles each hot Arizona July weekend to the nearest glider airport.

It was this type of determination that inspired Jon to purchase an airplane at age 19, and then hired an instructor to learn to fly it! He received his pilot’s license by flying every day for a period of 3 weeks, yet eventually yearned to do more in an airplane. In 1996, he purchased a Pitts S2B Bi-plane and spent 3 months training to compete in aerobatic contests.

During his first competition against 23 pilots, Jon achieved 3rd place, and in the next two contests he won first and second place, awarding him enough points to become the Arizona State Sportsman champion his first year of competition aerobatics. It was then that Jon knew that aerobatics was his love.

Now, flying “extreme” freestyle aerobatics, Jon enjoys flying Airshows, so he can encourage both adults and children to pursue their dreams, much like Bob Hoover did for him.