At Sweet Aviation, flying is more than a hobby or even a career — it’s a lifestyle propelled by passion. Our dedicated team is committed to cultivating that passion in each customer, whether new to the skies or a lifelong aircraft enthusiast.
You may recognize Chuck Surack as the Founder of Sweetwater Sound, as the owner of luxury car dealership SweetCars, or as a community leader, serving on the boards of many local non-profit organizations.
What you might not know is that Chuck is a helicopter pilot and aircraft enthusiast. Inspired by his aviator father, Chuck has loved flying since childhood, even keeping his Boy Scouts Aviation merit badge to this day. His first flying experiences were in his dad’s Aeronca Chief based right here at Smith Field. Chuck would go on to own many other airplanes and helicopters, such as the Cessna 414, Cessna Citations, and the Eurocopter EC130, just to name a few. He loves flying and can often be found at the helm of a helicopter. He and his wife, Lisa, have two sons and a daughter.
With well over 20 years of flight experience, Joel’s passion for flight knows no bounds. In 2002 Joel earned his private pilot certificate, later attending the International Air Land Emergency Resource Team (ALERT) Academy where he obtained his instrument rating along with his commercial and flight instructor certificates.
At over 5,000 hours of flight instruction, Joel now leads the staff at Sweet Aviation and passionately assists the aviation enthusiasts of Fort Wayne with reaching their dreams of flight. He is type rated in Sweet Aviation’s Cirrus Vision Jet, certified to fly client’s T-28, as well as highly skilled in aerobatic maneuvers in the Super Decathlon.
Originally from Cloverdale, Indiana, Michael graduated from Manchester University, later working in Indianapolis in international logistics.
That all changed for Michael after a helicopter tour around the San Francisco Bay Area. After that, he felt destiny pull him in the direction of aviation which led him to training at Sweet Aviation. He has since obtained his fixed-wing private pilot certificate and helicopter CFI rating.
When Michael has his feet on the ground, he operates a non-profit sports foundation as well as several other community focused ventures in Fort Wayne.
Josh is from the Nashville area and recently moved to Fort Wayne to be closer to his family. Josh felt “destined” for a career in flight, being born while his dad was in flight training. Now, it’s come full circle, with Josh helping new aspiring pilots ignite their passion for aviation and fulfill their flight dreams at Sweet Aviation.
Jesse Meyer is a Flight Instructor at Sweet Aviation who is passionate about helping others achieve their goals in aviation. Jesse earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Cincinnati before pursuing a career in flight training.
As a flight instructor, Jesse works with students at every stage of their journey, taking individuals with little or no aviation experience and guiding them toward earning their pilot certificates. His role includes both hands-on flight instruction and ground training, ensuring students gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to successfully complete their pilot checkrides and become safe pilots.
Jesse’s interest in aviation grew from a childhood dream. After spending time involved in college athletics, he realized that path was not where he wanted to build his future, which led him to pursue flying professionally. A first-generation pilot, he enjoys breaking new ground and inspiring others. Outside of work, Jesse enjoys golf, lake activities, wakeboarding, surfing, skiing, and video games.
Originally from Nebraska, Brandon graduated from Indiana University and has called Fort Wayne home since 2004.
His passion for helicopters was ignited during college when he had the opportunity to fly in a UH-60 Blackhawk through the Army officer training battalion over the IU campus. Since that moment he focused on becoming a pilot.
Brandon earned his private, commercial, instrument, and CFI, and CFI-I helicopter ratings through Sweet Aviation, and is working towards his ATP rating. He may add fixed-wing ratings to his repertoire for fun in the future, but for now he is very happy focusing on helicopters. He accomplished a long-time goal of becoming a Sweet Helicopters charter pilot, and would like to also be a Samaritan helicopter EMS pilot in the future.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Sean graduated with honors from the US Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s in political science and a German language minor. He went on to serve eleven years on active duty as an Air Force Special Operations Pilot, logging over 2,100 hours of flight time including 1,000 hours of combat over Iraq and Afghanistan. For his accomplishments Sean was awarded a Bronze Star and eleven Air Medals.
In addition to aircraft, Sean is also passionate about his faith and earned his master’s in Theological Studies from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary while attending A&P school.
Sean enjoys spending time with his four daughters, as well as camping, traveling, and hunting.
