Jay Taton

Jay was born into an aviation family. Both of his grandfathers owned multiple planes to check on the family farms. Most all of his cousins and uncles are pilots as well. He first got involved in aviation as a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and was awarded a flight scholarship through them. Jay started his training at the same time as Chris Meyer at the Lowery Aero Club. He earned his B.S. in Aerospace Science from Metropolitan State College in Denver. While there he earned all of his ratings through Flight Instructor. After graduation he joined the US Air Force and earned his wings in 1990. Jay flew KC-135R’s for 4 years then became an Instructor/Evaluator in the C-12F. He finished out his active duty time as a Joint Tactical Air Controller. He then joined the AF Reserves going back to the KC-135R. While in the service he earned his Instrument and Multi-Engine Instructor ratings as well as his ATP and his M.S. in Aeronautical Science. While in the service he was awarded 2 AF Commendation Medals, 3 Aerial Achievement Medals, 2 Combat Readiness Medals, the Kuwait Liberation Medal and a NATO Medal.

After getting out of the service he was hired by a major airline and has been there for the last 18 years and a Captain for the last 12. Jay has always had an interest in warbirds. His dream came to fruition when he was invited by Rich Grinnell to attend a MiG 15 ground/flight school where he earned his MiG-15/17 type rating. Jay holds type ratings in 4 different aircraft and has amassed over 18000 flight hours in 34 years of flying.

Jay currently lives in Denver with his wife Christine raising 4 boys. Their oldest, Michael, is currently a Pilot for Boutique Airlines and their youngest has started flight training.