Brad Takes Flight
Brad Leve: A Flight Instructor Who Got Over His Fear of Flying
Brad Leve is a Penn State entrepreneurship professor in the Smeal College of Business, who also owns his own flight school, called Snap Flight. When students graduate they can become flight instructors and/or private pilots. Leve has found a passion for teaching and he enjoys the Penn State atmosphere as well as its students.
Leve is a true entrepreneur. He began his career on Wall Street as a municipal and corporate bond analyst. He then went on to direct a start-up with his father. They eventually sold their multimillion-dollar contract manufacturer, which lead Leve to retire early. Afterwards, Leve experimented with new passions, for example, he became a scuba instructor, then a triathlon swimming coach (Leve swam in college) until finally he settled down in State College, Pa to raise a family with his wife.
Leve did not always have a passion for flying. In fact, Leve was so terrified of planes he refused to step aboard one for eight years. It was not until one of his triathlon swimmers got his private pilot license and convinced Leve that he was just scared of not being in control of the plane. His student was so persistent that Leve finally decided to book his discovery flight where he would fly a plane with a professional for the first time. He ended up enjoying flying so much that he got his own private pilot license, became a flight instructor and has not looked back.
When Leve came to the State College, Pa area, word got around that he was a flight instructor. He had people asking him frequently if he would teach them how to fly. Next thing he knew, he had about 25 students and was teaching them to fly with one plane. He has expanded his business ever since: he has multiple flight instructors, more than one plane that students can fly, and a large network of professor pilots who volunteer to speak at his school.