Aviation Mentor & Pioneer
Jim Hybarger
Rifle Farm Boy to Pilot Innovator and Mentor
From learning to fly at age 14 under WASP legends to setting world altitude records — Jim Hybarger's story is proof of what's possible when a Rifle kid gets access to aviation.
ATP Certified
Airline Transport Pilot
Collier Award
Perlan Project / Blue Condor
46,700 ft
Tow-altitude record set
25+ Years
Inspection Authorization
Jim Hybarger
ATP · A&P · Aviation Educator
A Lifetime in the Sky
Jim Hybarger grew up in Rifle and began pursuing his dream of flying at age 14. He learned from two former WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), Betty Clark and Pat Sullivan, both of whom are now in the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame and the Federal Aviation Hall of Fame.
He has held FAA instructor ratings for single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument flight, and he still holds ATP, Airframe, and Powerplant certifications. He held Inspection Authorization certification for more than 25 years.
Hybarger helped design and build the Rifle Jet Center with Andrew Doremus and managed the facility for numerous years. He fought forest fires in PB4Y-2 and KC-97 aircraft. More recently he retired from Airborne Resources in Denison, Texas, after roughly 10 years of hands-on piloting in Convair 340 and lead maintenance on Grob 520 and other turbine and reciprocating-engine aircraft.
The team was responsible for successful missions sponsored by Airbus, the Perlan Project, and Blue Condor, for which they received the Collier Award and SAE Award for sustainable aviation. On the Perlan Project they set tow-altitude records of 46,700 feet and the gliders set three records above 76,000 feet. He has also worked extensively with the U.S. military and Raytheon.
"I am living proof that even a farm boy from Rifle, CO can make a difference and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with you to establish this greatly needed goal for our young entrepreneurs."
His experience shows what is possible when a young person from Rifle has access to aviation. That is the pathway GCSI and the Innovation Center are building.
Jim's Story in His Own Words
It's All About Me — Flying
A memoir that reads like a movie — because it should be one.
Jim Hybarger grew up in Rifle, Colorado — a ranch kid with divorced parents, living with his grandparents, and a smoldering obsession with flight. From sneaking into cockpits as a boy in Palm Springs to earning his wings under WASP legends, Jim's memoir traces a life shaped entirely by aviation.
It's All About Me — Flying is a raw, funny, and deeply human account of how a rebellious kid found his purpose in the cockpit. It's the story of a boy who couldn't sit still in a classroom but could master a DC-3 — and how aviation gave him discipline, direction, and a destiny.
This is exactly why GCSI is building an aviation pathway. Jim's story is proof that when a young person connects with something that truly ignites them — whether it's a cockpit, a CNC machine, or a commercial kitchen — the trajectory of their life can change completely.
"My earliest dreams of flight take me back to my crib… In a few hours I would invisibly leave my sleeping body and my spirituous self would begin to roam and explore the highs and lows of our house. Then my fate was sealed in the strange way such things come about."
— James Hybarger, It's All About Me — Flying