Alumni soar to success as CEO, directors of aircraft maintenance company

Ryan Shepherd (center), CEO of Victory Lane Aviation, stands between fellow Liberty University School of Aeronautics alumni Dallas Marshall (left) and Brian Dollanarte. (Photo courtesy of James Wiley/GoDigital Unlimited)

Liberty University School of Aeronautics graduate Ryan Shepherd (’15, ’17) was born to fly, though his professional focus is currently fixed on assuring that airplanes remain flightworthy.

Shepherd, who earned his Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) certificate from Liberty in 2015 and his B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management online while working as an aircraft mechanic in 2017, is the CEO of Victory Lane Aviation, based in Concord, N.C.

As a missionary kid who grew up in Greece while his parents worked for Send Relief, Shepherd regularly traveled across the Atlantic.

“I fell in love with aviation when I was 6 years old living in Canada,” Shepherd said, noting that he would spend hours watching planes take off from Pearson International Airport in Toronto, always eager to learn more about the aviation industry. “We had an aircraft encyclopedia at home, and I didn’t even like reading, but I loved studying about all types of planes. I was always fascinated by it. Some kids want to be firefighters. Since I was a kid and saw my first plane, I knew it was something I wanted to be involved with.”

His passion for aviation has only increased over the years.

“There are new planes coming out all of the time, and you are always learning about new planes and technology,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd joined Victory Lane Aviation in 2019, the same year he earned his pilot’s license.

“At Liberty, I did flight training and was in the first Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) class (in 2011-12) before they had a degree for that,” Shepherd said. “I always wanted to fly, so I came back around to completing my pilot’s licenses, but I just decided the best track for my career was to focus on maintenance.”

The company started its aircraft maintenance operations in Concord in 2015 and acquired the Charlotte service center in February 2021.

“At both locations, there is no limit to what we will work on — from large commercial airline aircraft and small piston aircraft privately-owned by charter companies to government-owned aircraft and small, fabric-covered aircraft from the 1940s,” Shepherd said.

This past year, his company has even serviced some of Liberty’s fleet of 22 Cessna 172 Skyhawks.

“I recently made a full circle here because my first job as an aircraft mechanic was working on Liberty aircraft at Freedom Aviation, a maintenance company owned by Liberty (out of Lynchburg Regional Airport),” Shepherd said. “Now, almost a decade later, we have reconnected and helped out when the flight school gets so busy that it needs additional maintenance support, to provide a service … so that they can keep those planes flying around the clock.”

Shepherd recently hired two fellow Liberty alumni as directors of maintenance. Dallas Marshall (’14, ’17), who formerly worked as a mechanic for airlines as well as a private NASCAR company that flies teams around the country, oversees the Concord facility, and Brian Dollanarte (’15), who previously served as a helicopter crew chief for the U.S. Army National Guard, works out of Charlotte.

“I needed good, honest people to work alongside to continue to grow this company,” Shepherd said. “Those guys both run a tight ship. They don’t shy away from being very driven and asking a lot from the guys they work with, but with their Christian worldview, they are always doing it with a positive, honest work ethic and professionalism in the way they conduct themselves.”

“It has been so cool to see how the Lord has orchestrated everything and brought Ryan, Brian, and myself to the same place to grow and hopefully make a difference in the aviation industry,” Marshall said. “The three of us strive to deliver an exceptional and safe product to our customers. We are so excited for the things to come and to see what the Lord has next for Victory Lane Aviation.”

Victory Lane Aviation mechanics work on one of the 22 Cessna Skyhawks in Liberty University’s fleet at the Concord, N.C., location last year.

Marshall, who graduated from Liberty’s AMT program in December 2014 and finished his B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management in March 2017, said his education prepared him and many of Victory Lane Aviation’s other employees extremely well for their current jobs.

“Based on my experience at Liberty, as well as working alongside graduates from many other (Airframe & Powerplant) A&P schools, the Liberty graduates I have worked with over my career so far have been some of the most well-prepared and talented mechanics in the industry,” he said. “Liberty has a top-of-the-line program with fantastic training aids, aircraft, and instructors, (which) has helped me as well as the other graduates … to carry out the job functions efficiently and effectively.”

Dollanarte is currently working on his M.S. in Business Administration through Liberty’s online programs after earning his B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in aviation maintenance and global studies.

Shepherd said the demand for his company’s services has risen dramatically over the past few years, as Charlotte has emerged as the sixth busiest airport in the United States and 18th busiest in the world, transporting more than 43 million passengers annually. In 2021, North Carolina was the sixth-busiest state in the U.S. for private jet travel.

“We are blessed and fortunate to have continued our growth through a pandemic,” he said. “We didn’t lay off a single employee during COVID-19; we actually hired through it. It’s pretty much been over 50 percent growth year after year, growth beyond what we could ever imagine, and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. We are fortunate and blessed for the opportunity God has provided us.”