Jamail Larkins was born on January 30, 1984 in Augusta, Georgia. He graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he received a BBA.
But his “life” began at the age of 12, when he took his first flight through the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles Program and he became a passionate aviation enthusiast. Deciding he would do whatever it took to continue flying, Jamail began petitioning the FAA to let him fly solo at the age of 13. He didn’t get the answer he was looking for, so he headed to Canada where the minimum age
requirement was only 14. It was there he became one of the Youngest American Pilots to fly a powered aircraft solo.
A few years later at the age of 16, Jamail became the National Spokesman of the Experimental Aircraft Association “Vision of Eagles Program,” a youth education initiative which included EAA’s signature youth program, the Young Eagles Program. In this role, Jamail was able to use his passion to promote the career possibilities available to aviation enthusiasts, young and old alike. Despite being in high school, Jamail helped the organization reach its goal of exposing 1 million young people to the thrill of flight.
With this newfound status and exposure, Jamail was afforded many unique opportunities, including the opportunity to become the first student pilot to solo the Cirrus SR20, a revolutionary certified, single-engine aircraft with a built-in parachute. Spreading his wings, Jamail purchased his very first airplane before graduating high school and branched out into aerobatic flying at the age of 18. Loving the creativity and freedom this allowed him, he became the youngest air show aerobatic performer in the U.S. He not only flew airshows in front of audiences as large as 70,000 people, but also on prime-time television, including the Late Show w/ David Letterman.
Early on, Jamail realized in order to fund his passion for flight; he needed a plan to make more money than the average teenager. To do so, at the age of 15, he founded his first company – Larkins Enterprises, Inc., an aviation sales & advertising company. When not in class or promoting the aviation industry, Jamail worked on growing his start-up, and transformed it, into multiple businesses, including aircraft sales, leasing, and an aviation consulting firm. Collectively, Jamail’s companies have reached over $7.5 Million in annual sales.
Jamail’s profile was building and the Federal Aviation Administration took notice. By the Fall of 2004, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey appointed Jamail as the first official FAA Ambassador for Aviation and Space Education. For 14 years, Jamail organized and ran one of the Federal Aviation Administration’s most successful programs to expose America’s youth to aviation through the DreamLaunch Tour, a national tour designed to educate students about career opportunities in aviation and to motivate students to reach for their dreams.
During the DreamLaunch Tour, Jamail spoke to at more than 1,000 schools, 60,000 students, and took more than 1,000 people for their first flight in a small aircraft.
Jamail has had the opportunity to give speeches beside notables like first man to fly beyond the speed of sound, Chuck Yeager, the last man to step on the moon, Gene Cernan, and legendary aerobatic pilot, Patty Wagstaff. Larkins has been named a World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leader”, a “History Maker in the Making” for MSNBC, a member of the 30 Under 30 by Forbes Magazine, and one of the Top 100 Most Innovating Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs. Jamail’s accomplishments have been featured on Fox News, NBC Nightly News, The Late Show w/ David Letterman, BET, USA Today, and many more.
In addition to business, Jamail has worked with organizations such as the National Business Aviation Association, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, Build-APlane, and numerous other organizations to promote the aviation industry to mainstream America. His latest effort to promote aviation, is AviationStart.org, the most comprehensive resource for any aspiring aviation professional, which includes a scholarship guide containing more than $20 million in scholarships and program funding for a variety of aviation careers.
After being recognized as an expert in the aviation industry, he was requested by the US Congress to testify in front of the House Transportation Committee on the importance of the aviation industry to the country’s economy, flown with the Navy’s prestigious Blue Angels, and has been featured in exhibits at the Air & Space Smithsonian Museum (Be-A-Pilot Program), Wings Over Rockies Museum, and the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, PA.
