Allan Schrader, Lightspeed
Unlike so many others that grew up with aviation, or learned to fly early in life and then decide to start an aviation business, Allan founded Lightspeed Aviation driven by the challenge of innovation (at a time when ANR was new to aviation) and a strong desire to serve customers before he learned to fly. With a background in headset design from prior communications company startups and a network of the right people, Allan and two close associates worked on the first Lightspeed headset on nights and weekends while they maintained their regular jobs.
In 1996 the first Lightspeed headset made its debut at EAA AirVenture. Pilots loved the improved comfort, quieting and overall value, and a new company was born. The relentless pursuit of pilot-centered functionality and exceptional support has built Lightspeed into one of the most loved and respected brands of headsets in aviation.
After nearly 20 years of leading Lightspeed and living in the aviation community, Allan was inspired to learn to fly helicopters and got his rating in 2014. He has a strong belief that his ability to fly helicopters and his lifelong desire to serve the needs of others will one day be part of his ongoing story in aviation. "I’m convinced God’s got a future piloting role for me in humanitarian support somewhere in the world." For now, he can be found flying low and slow over the beautiful wine country of the Willamette Valley in Oregon, where the company is based.
Lightspeed Zulu 3 Headset
The latest generation of Lightspeed's most popular headset, with exclusive comfort features.
Lightspeed Tango Wireless Headset
Aviation's first premium wireless headset, including ANR and Bluetooth music input.
Charlie Schneider, MyGoFlight
A relatively new pilot, Charlie has been flying for about 10 years. He holds an instrument rating with over 1,200 hours of experience. His interest in flying came from one of his clients of another business he runs, who suggested that he use a small airplane to more efficiently visit customers and prospects. Given that many of his customers operated away from major airports, he decided to look into it. After flying with his client in a Cirrus, Charlie decided it was something he could do and then set out to learn how to fly. The main purpose was to use flying as flexible transportation in business and for personal travel. A "fast car with wings!"
Charlie had been an avid sailor most of his life and was not new to navigation, since electronic charting had been available in boating 25 years ago. So imagine his surprise when he was handed a stack of paper charts and a slide rule and asked to navigate a plane while flying 200 knots! He asked his instructor to suggest another way, purchased a $5,000 laptop computer, loaded it with Jeppesen’s Flight Deck and Flight Star - and away he went. However, the laptop was anything but in the air. It often left his lap and reconfigured the airplane on the way back down. Once, when flying over the Sierra’s, he hit an updraft that caused the aircraft to instantly launch up 1,000 feet. The laptop flew into the air and when it came down it hit the flap and throttle levers, reconfiguring the aircraft into full flaps, zero throttle... while going 200 knots.
So when the Apple iPad came out, he was first in line to get one of those, thinking that it was a device he could secure. He then made one of the first iPad kneeboards that other pilots saw and wanted too. With the help of his friend and partner, they created MYGOFLIGHT. The company has helped many pilots secure and carry their iPads in aircraft with a line of kneeboards and mounts that are general purpose and aircraft-specific but all singularly focused on the demands of pilots operating in extreme motion.
The MYGOFLIGHT flight bag line was created when he saw that the flight bags on the market were not designed with the iPad in mind. Charlie also thought they were functional but not cool. The company then created a line of flight bags designed for the “paperless” cockpit called the Flight Bag PLC Pro, Sport and Lite for pilots ranging from general, business, and commercial aviation.
Charlie enjoys creating products that are highly functional, professional and cool - the minimum requirements for all of the products that MYGOFLIGHT makes.
Charlie enjoys flying for pleasure as well and has taken his family from his home port in Denver, Colorado, to all reaches of North America, including Canada and Mexico.
MyGoFlight Folio C Kneeboard
Sophisticated kneeboard and iPad protector with removable clipboard.
MyGoFlight PLC Pro Flight Bag
Complete cockpit organization for the iPad pilot, with removable backpack straps.
Learn about more of Sporty's partners in this blog post.
