Inspired by an unlicensed, under-aged first flight.

In 1939, in Bluewater, New Mexico, 16-year-old Elmont George was waiting for his older brother, Les, to give him a flying lesson in a J-3 Cub he had traded for this Ford Model A. Waiting impatiently, Elmont innocently decided to start the Cub’s engine and taxi it around. Soon the plan gained some speed, which eventually lifted the unlicensed teenager off the ground.

Not wanting to crash, he made his best decision on what to do next: keep flying around. Finally, Elmont’s brother Les arrived at the strip along with half the town of Bluewater. Elmont successfully kept the Cub in the air with his limited flying abilities, but realized he was getting low on fuel. That’s when he finally decided to come in for a landing that memorable day.

Elmont now smiles and says that he has never bounced so high in his life than with that first landing. When he came to a stop, Les told Elmont that he didn’t need lessons after all; Elmont should just keep flying by himself.

Elmont’s love of flight never changed, and in 1967, he and another brother, Ralph, opened Southern Oregon Skyways, Inc. on the Ashland Municipal Airport. Since then, the George family has owned and operated an FBO in the beautiful Rogue Valley.

In 1982, a second location was opened in Medford and became the hub for operations. Southern Oregon Skyways, Inc. began to do business as Jet Center Medford but the faces never changed. Monte, Elmont’s son, managed the Medford location and Elmont stayed in Ashland. As the valley grew, so did the demand for flights out of Medford. After a while, the Ashland location became quiet so the entire Jet Center Medford operation was moved to Medford. As the Medford operation expanded, another facility was purchased in 1999. This allowed our maintenance operation to grow and also offered customers with another lobby.

Monte’s youngest brother Danny is now President and keeps the company focused on moving forward, innovating, and growing to meet the needs of our customers.