Jake Melampy has had a life-long love of aviation, being introduced to aircraft at the ripe age of 5. Earning his Private Pilot certificate in 1997, he was flying Lear 25s for a freight/charter company by 2001. To date, he has logged well over 13,000 hours in aircraft ranging from Cessna 152s, DC-3s, Waco biplanes, a variety of business jets, and tactical military fighter jets. During all this time, he’s never lost the love of teaching and sharing his affection for aviation. He has continued to maintain his CFI/CFII ratings, logging in excess of 6500 hours of dual instruction. He has the rare ability to instill real-world experience into flight training and the syllabus at Speed Hunter Aviation is built around his experience in the cockpit.

Born while his father was serving in the US Air Force, Jeremiah Kilmer grew up around aircraft and developed a love for aviation at an early age. In 1998, while still in college, he began flight training at the Middletown Regional airport and earned his Private Pilot license under the instruction of Jake Melampy. He then went on to obtain the remainder of his professional ratings and licenses. Having trained in dozens of different types of aircraft from vintage taildraggers to technically advanced aircraft, he is able to pass along to his students the art of flying while also preparing them to become a safety conscious and competent pilot.

Jonathan Banks has been flying with us since November of 2023. Jon has eagerly been chipping away at a promising career in aviation. Following a passion discovered at a young age, Jonathan's long term goal is to establish himself as a professional career pilot. As a kid, Jon always had an interest in anything and everything mechanical. This interest, along with a rich family heritage of Naval aviators on his mother’s side of the family, as well as his father’s and grandfather’s flying history, sparked a passion like no other. Today, Jon enjoys his time instructing and loves sharing his passion of aviation with others. Jonathan currently holds CFI and CFII certificates.

Samantha Hentz became interested in aviation while flying in a Piper Cherokee Six with her dad on their annual family trips to Texas. When she wasn’t acting as ‘First Officer’ at 6 years old on those long cross country trips, they would fly the Cherokee locally, practicing maneuvers and going on ‘roller coaster rides’ flying high above Kings Island.

She began her pilot career after graduation from the University of Cincinnati, and has since obtained her CFI/CFII ratings, as well as that of Advanced Ground Instructor and Instrument Ground Instructor. When she is not instructing, you can find her flying into local airports to grab the cherished $100 hamburger, dropping skydivers into college football stadiums, or working in flight operations at a major cargo airline. As an Instructor Pilot, she enjoys sharing her passion for aviation and supporting pilots at every stage of training.