Skyfarer has been selected to compete in PitchAv, the startup pitch competition taking place on the first-ever Horizon Stage at the 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas.
PitchAv runs Wednesday, October 21, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., with selected companies presenting to a panel of five industry-recognized judges who will test each concept’s viability and determine which venture is most likely to become business aviation’s next breakthrough.
The competition is produced by Alpha Wingman in partnership with NBAA. NBAA-BACE itself runs October 20–22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The Horizon Stage
What makes this year different is where it happens.
The Horizon Stage is new for 2026, positioned prominently on the exhibit floor rather than in a separate conference room. The intent is to put startups in the same space as established exhibitors — letting attendees walk past a pitch in progress rather than having to seek it out.
NBAA Senior Vice President of Events and Professional Engagement Jo Damato, CAM Fellow, described NBAA-BACE as the place where innovative ideas and entrepreneurial people converge to shape business aviation’s future, and said the organization was glad to give fresh ideas a stage in front of the industry’s leaders and decision-makers.
Alpha Wingman President Andy Nixon framed the format around two goals: connecting innovators with the expertise and experience to help their ideas succeed, and demonstrating a new way for people to engage with the show floor by placing startups alongside tenured exhibitors.
The Judges
Five judges will evaluate the pitches:
- Stuart Illian — co-founder and chief aviation officer at Bluetail
- Joe Hertzler — founder and former CEO of Avtrak, and strategic business advisor with Thoroughbred Aviation
- Brent Wiggins — AOG director of operations at Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems
- Ryan Waguespack — owner of General Aviation Consultants
- Ben Walton — founder of Summit Aviation
Prizes include professional mentorship, introductions to investor groups, and business services spanning marketing, bookkeeping, legal, strategy, and graphic design.
Why a General Aviation Marketplace Is Pitching at a Business Aviation Show
It’s a fair question, and the answer is the pipeline.
Business aviation’s most persistent constraint isn’t aircraft or capital — it’s people. Boeing projects hundreds of thousands of new pilots and maintenance technicians needed across the industry over the next two decades, and business aviation competes for that talent against the airlines, often with less visibility.
Those people come from general aviation. Nearly every corporate pilot, charter captain, and flight department technician started somewhere smaller — a flight school, a CFI job, a maintenance shop at a GA field. The health of the business aviation workforce is downstream of how easily someone can find an instructor, start training, and stay in the industry long enough to progress.
That’s the problem Skyfarer works on. The platform connects student pilots, CFIs, flight schools, aircraft buyers and sellers, and aviation service providers across all 50 states, with the aim of removing the friction that causes people to never start — or to quietly stop.
The industry data on that friction is consistent. Training inquiries skew heavily toward people at the very beginning, most want to start within weeks rather than months, and a substantial share of prospective students never hear back from the provider they contacted. Each of those is a person who might have become a professional pilot or technician.
Business aviation has a direct stake in fixing that, even when the fix happens three or four career steps upstream.
What We’re Bringing
Skyfarer today serves more than 14,000 users across all 50 states, with thousands of flight training and aviation service listings. Recent platform work has focused on reducing the gap between people who want to fly and the providers who can teach them — including Open Requests, which lets pilots post what they’re looking for and have instructors and schools respond, rather than contacting providers one at a time and hoping for a reply.
The underlying thesis is straightforward: aviation doesn’t have a demand problem. It has a connection problem — and connection problems are solvable.
If You’re Attending NBAA-BACE
PitchAv is open to NBAA-BACE attendees, no separate registration required beyond show access.
When: Wednesday, October 21, 2:00–5:00 p.m. Where: Horizon Stage, on the NBAA-BACE exhibit floor NBAA-BACE: October 20–22, Las Vegas
If you’re a flight school operator, CFI, flight department leader, or anyone working on the aviation workforce problem, come find us. We’d genuinely rather talk to people building things than pitch into a void.
More on NBAA-BACE at nbaabace.org, and more about Skyfarer at skyfareracademy.com.
The Bottom Line
Skyfarer will pitch at PitchAv on the inaugural Horizon Stage at NBAA-BACE 2026 on Wednesday, October 21, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Las Vegas, before a panel of five industry judges.
Being selected to present at the industry’s largest business aviation event — on a stage designed specifically to put new ideas in front of established operators — is a meaningful opportunity to make the case that general aviation’s accessibility problem is business aviation’s workforce problem.
We’re looking forward to it. Come say hello.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PitchAv? PitchAv is a startup pitch competition produced by Alpha Wingman in partnership with NBAA, in which selected entrepreneurs present their ventures to a panel of five industry-recognized judges who evaluate viability and determine which concept is most likely to become business aviation’s next breakthrough. Prizes include professional mentorship, introductions to investor groups, and business services including marketing, bookkeeping, legal, strategy, and graphic design.
When and where is PitchAv at NBAA-BACE 2026? PitchAv takes place Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on the Horizon Stage, located on the NBAA-BACE exhibit floor in Las Vegas. NBAA-BACE 2026 runs October 20–22.
What is the NBAA-BACE Horizon Stage? The Horizon Stage is new for 2026 and is positioned prominently on the NBAA-BACE exhibit floor rather than in a separate conference space. The intent is to let attendees engage with programming while experiencing the show floor, and to place startup companies alongside established exhibitors.
Who are the PitchAv judges? The five on-site judges are Stuart Illian, co-founder and chief aviation officer at Bluetail; Joe Hertzler, founder and former CEO of Avtrak and strategic business advisor with Thoroughbred Aviation; Brent Wiggins, AOG director of operations at Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems; Ryan Waguespack, owner of General Aviation Consultants; and Ben Walton, founder of Summit Aviation.
What is Skyfarer? Skyfarer is a nationwide general aviation marketplace connecting student pilots, flight instructors, flight schools, aircraft buyers and sellers, and aviation service providers across all 50 U.S. states. The platform serves more than 14,000 users and focuses on reducing the friction that prevents prospective pilots from starting or continuing training — including Open Requests, which lets pilots post what they need and have providers respond directly.
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