The Elevation Aviation co-founder is building a flight school at Washington Manassas Airport while staying close to the changes reshaping aviation around him.
2-MINUTE BRIEF
WHO HE IS: Ian Tracey, 25, is a Fairfax native and one of three partners behind Elevation Aviation at Washington Manassas Airport.
HOW IT STARTED: After one semester of college, Tracey took an introductory flight and decided to pursue aviation. He became a pilot, flight instructor and aircraft mechanic.
WHAT HE’S BUILDING: Elevation Aviation helps students navigate flight training, career options and the costs of learning to fly.
WHY MANASSAS: Tracey trained at the airport and is building his business there as commercial service approaches and aviation and technology companies continue growing around Manassas.
Ian Tracey’s aviation career started with one flight.
After high school, the Fairfax native spent one semester in college before deciding it was not the direction he wanted to take.
He started looking at other possibilities and signed up for a discovery flight, an introductory flight with an instructor.
“I fell in love,” Tracey said.
He began training at what is now Washington Manassas Airport.
Today, Tracey is 25 and one of three partners behind Elevation Aviation, a flight school operating from the same airport where he learned to fly.
“This airport’s growing,” Tracey said. “We hope to grow with it.”
From Student to Business Owner
Tracey earned his private pilot certificate, continued through instrument and commercial training and became a flight instructor.
He also worked as an apprentice aircraft mechanic and earned an airframe and powerplant mechanic certificate, the federal credential that allows mechanics to work on major aircraft systems.
The school where he trained and first taught eventually closed.
Tracey later began talking with two former instructors, Keith Teister and Erich Deitsch, about building a school of their own.
They became his partners in Elevation Aviation.
Making Aviation Easier to Understand
Tracey said one of the biggest challenges for newcomers is simply understanding how aviation works.
Flight training quickly introduces students to certificates, ratings, medical requirements, flight hours, career paths and unfamiliar terminology.
Tracey and his partners looked back at their own training and asked where students needed more help.
“How to best support and build a school around the student experience and student success above everything else,” Tracey said.
Elevation Aviation offers consultations for people considering flight training, along with private-pilot, instrument, instructor and commercial training.
The goal is to make the path easier to understand before someone makes a major commitment.
Then There Is the Cost
“Learning to fly is expensive,” Tracey said.
He described cost as the biggest barrier for many people interested in aviation.
Elevation Aviation bills students lesson by lesson rather than requiring prepaid training blocks and works with a third-party company that offers monthly financing.
Tracey said he has seen students take on large loans to finish training quickly, only to face payments while still looking for their first aviation job.
He and his partners continue looking for ways to help students better understand and manage the financial side of training.
Where Aviation and Innovation Are Growing
The airport is preparing for scheduled passenger service.
Aurora Flight Sciences remains headquartered there. Electra is developing hybrid-electric aircraft in Manassas. Nearby, the Nexus234 Innovation District is bringing together aerospace, defense, semiconductor and other technology activity across Manassas and Prince William County.
He regularly attends airport and City meetings to follow changes that could affect aviation and his young business.
“Right now our focus is stay small, stay lean, because we know these changes are coming,” Tracey said.
For now, that means keeping Elevation Aviation flexible enough to adapt as the airport and industry around it change.
A World of Opportunity
Tracey also wants students to understand that aviation careers extend beyond major airlines.
Pilots work in corporate aviation, cargo operations, general aviation and government service. The industry also includes aircraft maintenance, airport operations and other technical careers.
Tracey’s own path already spans several of them: pilot, instructor, mechanic and business owner.
His partners bring additional experience. One has worked in general aviation and the airlines, while another previously flew in the Air Force and now works as an airline pilot.
Tracey hopes those experiences can help students see where aviation might take them.
His longer-term goal is to build relationships that continue beyond a flight lesson and eventually have aviation employers call the school looking for people ready for their next opportunity.
“That would be the dream,” Tracey said.
For someone who has never flown, his advice is much simpler.
Take an introductory flight.
See what it is like.
That is where Tracey started.
At 25, he is now building a business at the same airport and making sure he is in the room as its next chapter takes shape.
Sources
- Manassas Journal — Interview with Ian Tracey, Elevation Aviation, Sept. 1, 2026
- Elevation Aviation — Current training programs and business information
- City of Manassas Economic Development — Elevation Aviation business profile
- Washington Manassas Airport — Airport business directory
- Aurora Flight Sciences — Company history and Manassas headquarters
- Electra — Manassas headquarters and aircraft-development information
- George Mason University — Nexus234 Innovation District
- Manassas Journal — Interview with Washington Manassas Airport Director Juan Rivera, Sept. 1, 2026
