Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

Online Editor

Chad Trautvetter

Denver Centennial Airport-based International Jet Aviation transformed one of its Learjet 35As (N925DM) into Dream Chaser 4 for five days in late January to fly more than 50 children in five Western U.S. cities for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The jet also had a temporary rainbow paint scheme “to make it special for the children,” who ranged in age from four to 17 years old. International Jet crews flew more than 50 kids over 10 round-robin, 40-minute sightseeing flights–amassing more than 2,000 miles in total–from Denver; Colorado Springs; Albuquerque, N.M.; Salt Lake City; and Orange County, Calif. After the flights, each of the children signed the side of the airplane.


“Many employees of International Jet volunteered their time to make this possible,” said company CEO Lynn Krogh. “Our job on those 10 flights was to help the kids forget why they had an invitation to be there in the first place. It was rewarding to see how much happiness we brought to those children.”


The January event marked the fourth time that International Jet has done these Make-A-Wish flights. “The first was in 1990, and we time these flights to occur just before the Learjet is scheduled for a major inspection and new paint,” assistant director of operations Doug Strangfeld told AIN. He added that International Jet donates the aircraft, crew and fuel on the flights. At press time, the Learjet’s rainbow paint scheme was being stripped so it can be repainted in more traditional livery.

International Jet Aviation’s Dream Chaser 4 Lifts Spirits of Make-A-Wish Kids

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