The BetterPlane Story
Howdy, I'm Jason – airplane geek, private pilot, EAA lifetime member, and wrench turner since age 9. I'm also a Texas Aggie who switched careers from bolts to bytes. After getting my start on a machine learning team in a financial company's innovation lab, then building software in a nimble data startup, I decided to merge my passions: aviation and software.
My love for aviation? That started with my grandfather Ralph Hall. His lifelong obsession with aircraft (and anything with a motor) sparked something in me that never faded. At age 9, I was already helping him restore a 1950 Dodge Phillips 66 aviation fuel truck. From hanging on his every word about flying to inheriting his meticulous approach to maintenance and restoration, he showed me that aviation isn't just about flying – it's about the details, the care, and the stories behind every aircraft.
Once I had a software career under my belt (and I'd squirreled away enough for a down payment on bad decisions), I followed in my grandfather's footsteps and dove into aircraft ownership with a 1955 Piper Tri-Pacer. What started as a few IA-supervised fixes quickly snowballed into a partial restoration. The experience taught me some valuable (and expensive) lessons:
- Reality Check #1: That "partially restored" beauty in the hangar? Let's just say vintage aircraft have more layers than a wedding cake. Take your time and dig deeper.
- Reality Check #2: Get an independent pre-purchase inspection. Because "runs great, needs nothing" usually means "runs occasionally, needs everything."
While finishing up the firewall forward restoration on the Tri-Pacer, I spent as much time wrestling with paperwork and logbooks as I did with wrenches. That's when it hit me:
In an age where your phone can order tacos from a drone, why are GA aircraft owners still managing their aircraft like it's 1955?
Sure, there were a few digital solutions out there – but they were built for flight schools and corporate fleets, not individual GA owners. Frustrated by the lack of a tool to easily search through and backup my paper logbooks, I built BetterPlane – a solution to augment traditional logbooks and make an aircraft's history organized and searchable. Because your aircraft (and your mechanic) deserve better than a dusty box of papers.
With a unique blend of skills, I'm likely the only wrench-turner you'll meet who also holds a machine learning patent and has a published entomological research paper.
