Randon Aviation

☀️ June Study Night ☀️

• Wednesday, June 17th
• 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
• Randon Aviation Classroom
7272 S Airport Rd, West Jordan, UT

Join us for a presentation featuring Randon Aviation alumnus and KC-135 Captain Jaden Smith.

Captain Jaden Smith began his aviation career in 2018 with Randon Aviation. He completed his PPL while working full time as a Flight Attendant for Delta Air Lines. After sending out more than 1,200 pages of application material, Jaden got selected for a Pilot position with the Utah Air National Guard to fly the KC-135.

For military flight school Captain Smith moved to Oklahoma and completed Undergraduate Pilot Training flying the T-6 Texan and T-1 Jayhawk. Upon finishing Pilot Initial Qualification on the KC-135 Stratotanker, he returned to Utah to fly the Tanker full time performing tactical military sorties mainly consisting of aerial refueling. Captain Smith has offloaded more than 2,300,000 pounds of gas to 248 receiver aircraft. He has flown five Presidential tasked high priority missions, participated in the largest US military joint force exercise Red Flag Northern Edge, supported delivery of the new B-21 stealth bomber, and flew Combat Air Patrol above the Super Bowl.

Jaden truly believes it is vitally important to give back to your community as a way to say thanks. In addition to flying in the military, Jaden volunteers as a Mission Pilot for the Civil Air Patrol and has logged 643 volunteer hours in support of Search & Rescue Operations, Aerospace Education, and Emergency Services.

In his free time Jaden enjoys playing sand volleyball, trail running, cooking at home, sailing on ocean cruises, and traveling.

Captain Jaden Smith is excited to return to Randon Aviation and share his inspiring story of becoming a military aviator using never before seen pictures and videos!

We had a great evening with hearing about the process of pilot interviews and the observed need for pilots in the coming decade! And guess what? That need is already here!

It takes a tremendous amount of dedication, resilience, and hard work to become a skilled pilot. The best way to start that journey is, well…to start. There’s no better time than now!

When you choose to embark on that journey with us, you can guarantee that we will help you succeed. Our school is committed to providing high quality training alongside meaningful career connection opportunities. When you become a Randon Aviation pilot, you become part of something bigger than yourself: a network of student aviators who are helping lift each other to new heights. Our next class starts June 12th - contact us today to enroll, it’s not too late!

Thank you, , , and the Utah Aeronautical Education Advisory Board for hosting an incredible career fair on Saturday! It is always our honor to be part of a local community of aviators, helping future pilots achieve their goals and follow their dreams.

Come join a school that will help you soar to new heights through genuine care and attention, high quality instruction, and an incredible support network of student pilots. Our next class is just a few weeks away - give us a call to get started!

A HUGE thank you to for hosting a tour for a group of our students today! It was fascinating to learn more about the inner workings of a large-scale airport operation.

Our goal is to train the best pilots by creating opportunities to understand every intricacy of the industry. Our students will go on to become pilots who have a greater appreciation for every person working in and around aviation - those who make it possible for pilots to do what we do.

This month’s study “night” was exclusive to our students. Don’t miss out on future opportunities like this! Contact us to get started with our next class.

🔔 New Assistant Chief Flight Instructor Alert! 🔔

Hi, I’m Brian Christensen, and I’m excited to be stepping into the Assistant Chief Flight Instructor role at Randon Aviation.

I started my aviation journey with Randon in April 2023, earned my CFI in June 2025, and began instructing shortly after in August. Since then, I’ve primarily worked with private and instrument students and developed a strong passion for helping build safe, confident, and capable pilots from day one.

Aviation is my second career. I come from a background in digital marketing, product development, and entrepreneurship. I initially ran an e-commerce brand before moving into conversion optimization, and later helped build and lead a web development and digital experience optimization team. In these roles, I focused on improving systems and building scalable processes, leading digital optimization strategy for clients, and conducting internal trainings across the organization. At Randon, I’m excited to build on that experience by strengthening standardization, improving training quality, and enhancing support and mentorship for both students and instructors.

I have been married for 7 years and have two dogs—a golden retriever and a goldendoodle. Outside of aviation, I enjoy skiing, playing hockey, hiking, working out, reading, and watching sports and movies.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of this team and for every moment I get to spend flying. Long term, I’d love to fly for a regional airline and eventually a legacy carrier, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing along the way.

🔔 New Assistant Chief Flight Instructor Alert! 🔔

Hi, I'm Katelyn (Kate) Withers and I’m excited to step into the role of Assistant Chief Flight Instructor at Randon Aviation!

Aviation has been an incredible journey for me—I started flying in October 2022 and have been “Randon-raised” ever since. I began instructing in September 2024 and officially joined the Randon team in December 2024. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work as a CFI/CFII, Instrument Ground Instructor, and Stage Check/EOC Instructor. I completed the Professional Pilot Leadership Initiative program through the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots in February of 2026. All of which has helped shape me into the pilot and mentor I am today.

I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics along with a Level 4 teaching license, and I truly love the teaching side of aviation. Watching students grow, gain confidence, and achieve their goals is the most rewarding part of what I do. Instrument flying has always been my favorite—both earning the rating and now teaching it.

As for the future, I’m open to any opportunity that keeps me flying! I’d love to fly a Pilatus and a Gulfstream someday, and ultimately my goal is to fly for a Legacy Carrier.

Outside of aviation, I’ve been married for 12 years with my incredible husband and spend life with our three amazing kids. When I’m not flying (or talking about flying), you’ll usually find me camping, road biking, gardening, or at a concert!

I’m grateful for this next step and excited to keep flying, teaching, and growing at Randon Aviation!

If you weren’t at our April study night, you definitely missed out! We welcomed a former Salt Lake Center controller who shared his experiences working in ATC and shared tips for current and future pilots to improve tower interactions and create the safest flight environment possible.

We do these study nights monthly to help our students stand out as the best of the best, preparing them for every scenario possible. While all students are generally invited to these, our May study night is a Randon Aviation student exclusive! A group of our students will be embarking on a private tour of the SLC International Airport to learn about the complexities of airport management, commercial airline operations, wildlife abatement, and more. Enroll in our next class so you don’t miss these future exclusive opportunities AND get the best flight training possible from our world class instructors. ✈️

Don’t miss our April study night! Featuring a former air traffic controller (now CFI), we’ll learn more about the life of tower controllers and have a chance to ask questions about the job and about ATC operations. And yes, don’t worry, we’ll have some trivia too!

All flight students welcome! Food and drinks will be provided.

It’s actually the perfect sunny day to fly our newest plane (shhh, don’t look outside). ☀️✈️

We’ve been keeping a little secret…

Help us welcome our newest fleet member, N139PS - a stunning Diamond DA-40!

No, this doesn’t mean we aren’t still die hard fans of our beloved Piper Archers (please…as if!). It simply means we’re expanding our options to give our students more experience in a variety of quality aircraft! Come fly with us and experience this new plane for yourself!