While many people who use private aviation do so to go places, country music star Dierks Bentley says he uses it to get home. The life on the road that is typical of entertainers of Bentley’s stature is the part he disliked the most. With his family left behind in Nashville, flying commercial or driving to gigs mean at least a night away, and Bentley said in a keynote address at NBAA-BACE he was determined to find a way to minimize his time away from home. The answer was a Cirrus SR22, which seated the three other members of his band, and by leaving for the airport right after “jumping around on stage,” as he described his job, the performers were usually back in Nashville by early the next morning, in time to drive their kids to school. With his Cessna CJ4, they’re often home before midnight.
Bentley said the private aircraft travel has also created camaraderie among band members, to the point where he sometimes almost wishes he was back in the cabin enjoying the socializing. It’s not all work for Bentley. He uses his various aircraft for family trips and is a dedicated participant in the Textron Special Olympics Airlift in which volunteer Cessna operators transport special-needs athletes to the event held every four years.
Dierks. Take nothing for granted, especially if transporting other folks. Don’t know your level of experience, but di insure you are receiving advanced training from experienced CFIs. Too many celebrities, or folks that bought in over their head, have not done so after the initial ratings and had bad or fatal accidents. In your business, Aaron Tippiin might be a good one to talk too. He is from a long time aviation family and has considerable experience himself. But do keep having fun and growing with it.
This unique approach to music touring helps he & his band avoid the typical “away from home all the time” core downside of being a professional music performer. Checking his tour date schedule, you see how his gigs in different cities are spaced out over time and place, in contrast to the typical compression of time and space method of minimizing tour costs. Speaking of costs, it’s really great how private AV enables a better life for this kind of work, but only the biggest of stars (like him) are able to afford it.
Ed Robertson, from Barenaked Ladies, flew his SR22T to every concert on their tour last Summer. He posts as “Barenakedpilot” on Instagram.