Joe Gilroy

Joe Gilroy walked off a Delta A330 flight deck for the last time on March 6, 2026—exactly 41 years to the day after joining Republic Airlines on May 6, 1985. He was 65. He had no intention of stopping. A Gold Seal CFII, FAA Training Center Evaluator, and Aircrew Program Designee, Joe is now the founder of Speedway Flight Training in Hampton, Georgia and the Speedway Flight Training Scholarship Fund. The title he values most today is mentor.

Aviation Career

Joe’s 45-year career spans every era of commercial aviation, from analog cockpits to fly-by-wire widebodies:

• 26,000 Incident-Free Flight Hours: A career defined by professionalism and precision
• Nine Type Ratings: Including the A320, A330, A350, B727, B787, and Lockheed Electra
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Outstanding graduating senior, class of 1979—where founding president Jack Hunt told incoming students they would be systems monitors, not stick-and-rudder pilots. Joe thought Hunt was wrong. By the end of his career, he called it 100 percent right.
• First Paid Flying Job: A Cessna 172 rigged with a skycaster advertising sign, flying slow circles over the Capitol Beltway at night. The tower at Andrews Air Force Base eventually ordered him to stop—drivers were pulling over to look at what appeared to be a UFO.
• Republic Airlines: Hired May 6, 1985 as a B727 second officer. Upgraded to first officer within his first year.
• Northwest Airlines: Flew the A320; joined the B787 development team at Northwest during the merger era
• Delta Air Lines: Joined through the Northwest-Delta merger; flew the A350 development program; retired as A330 Captain on long-haul international routes
• Final Flight: Dublin to Atlanta-Hartsfield, March 6, 2026—runway 26 Left, crosswind, firm second touchdown. “All I have is gratitude. It was a wonderful ride.”

FAA Designee Roles

Joe holds three FAA designee appointments, reflecting a career commitment to aviation standards that extends well beyond the cockpit:

• Gold Seal CFII: Awarded to instructors with a documented record of exceptional training outcomes
• FAA Training Center Evaluator (TCE): Authorized to conduct training and evaluation at approved FAA training centers
• Aircrew Program Designee (APD): Authorized to conduct checkrides and evaluations on behalf of the FAA

Speedway Flight Training

Joe founded what became Speedway Flight Training in 2016 as a flying club called Happy Goat Flying Club, co-founded with two fellow Delta pilots. He stayed and built the school as his partners moved on to other roles. Speedway is based at Atlanta Speedway Airport (KHMP) in Hampton, Georgia—a non-towered field south of Atlanta—and offers training from Private Pilot through CFII.

The Speedway Flight Training Scholarship Fund

The scholarship fund is built around a clear-eyed recognition of the biggest barrier facing non-traditional student pilots: most aviation universities expect incoming students to already hold a private pilot certificate, effectively gating the career path before it begins for students without connections or early financial access.

The fund covers 100 percent of the cost to earn a private pilot certificate:

• Gleim ground school kit: Full ground study materials provided at no cost
• Up to 50 hours of flight instruction: Covered by the fund
• Checkride fees: First attempt covered
• Dedicated CFI mentor: Each recipient is paired with a mentor for the duration of the program
• Commitment requirement: Recipients have 60 days to pass the FAA private pilot knowledge test with a score of 80% or better before flight training begins—a deliberate filter for genuine commitment, not a barrier to access
• University pathway required: Recipients must commit to attending an aviation university and pursuing a professional pilot career
• Professional standards from day one: Recipients must remain drug and alcohol free and maintain a clean driving record

The initial fundraising came from Joe’s retirement party—he asked guests to skip the bourbon and donate to the scholarship fund instead. The long-term goal is a fully self-sustaining endowment so the program continues after Joe is gone. Speedway Flight Training receives no financial benefit from the fund; the school provides airplanes and instruction at cost.

Support the fund at speedwayscholarship.com.

Philosophy

Joe has seen both ends of what aviation asks of a person—the early days of flying a glorified billboard over a highway at night and the final approach into Hartsfield on a long-haul A330. His message to the next generation is consistent: be humble and be grateful.

Only about 1 percent of the population can fly an airplane. A very small fraction of that 1 percent gets to do it professionally. That opportunity deserves to be treated accordingly.

His own summary of what an airline career is really about: “I get paid to make good decisions. I fly the airplane for free.”