Shawn Ashby

Where do you live?
San Luis Obispo California

How long have you been flying?
Started flight lessons in 1996, licensed by 1998 and commercial pilot by summer of 2001

What makes Sol a special place to work?
The great people I get to fly with

Which of our company’s core values (Safety, Hard Work, Integrity, The Little Things Matter) resonates the most with you?
Hard work and safety

Where is your favorite place that you have traveled for work?
Survey in Hawaii was fun and very challenging. Mapping landmarks like the USS Arizona and Waikiki beach that you knew millions of people were clicking on every year was pretty neat.

What do you like most about your job?
The travel to parts of this country I may never have thought to go… Lincoln Nebraska was a delight.

What inspired you to choose this career path?
After the “Dinosaurs” phase as a kid I was always playing with balsa wood gliders, plastic airplane models, and by 10 I was designing and building my own radio controlled airplanes.  After that aviation was always THE direction.

What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
While on rotation weather days or mx days I like to go to museums and parks.

At home days off I like fixing my classic cars and then having a pint at a local brewery. Maybe some music or pub trivia.

What excites you about our work?
The diversity and pace of the projects it’s exciting when a plan comes together

Favorite cuisine?
I’m fond of a good chicken wing… and bacon.

What makes Sol stand out from the competition?
The satcom communications ability on long missions.

What are the first three things on your bucket list?
Get a DC-3 type rating, have a beer in every pub on the Isle of Man, travel to Alaska again

What are your future ambitions?
To continue to fly and share Aviation

What is one moment in your life that you would want to relive? 
I would like to re-live the afternoon before my multi engine check-ride.  I had decided to take a break from studying and went with friends to a dirt BMX track behind the college… where after only a few jumps I crashed the bike and broke my collar bone.   Thus I had to cancel the check-ride and then heal for several months, and then do more training.

What or who is your inspiration? Why so?
Damian… for how he keeps up daddy duties for his 6 pack and SOL duties as well.   He’s a machine.

Is there something in life you can not live without?
Coffee… and my classic cars