BUSINESS story by Whitney Truluck / photo by Fred Salley
ELEVATE YOUR FLIGHT EXPERIENCE We’re all born with it…a fascination with airplanes and flight. As children, our parents would point out objects that soared through the air, whether it be birds, planes, or balloons. Now we find ourselves doing the same as parents and grandparents. While the excitement may dwindle a smidgen as we grow into adults, a select few never lose the anticipation of climbing into the cockpit and leaving the runway to fly freely into the clouds. Robby Peed and Benji Filyaw have found a way to not only satisfy their personal thrill of flying but to also help others fulfill their dreams of getting behind the yoke of a plane. Robby has spent most of his life around planes. “As a kid, my dad would take me flying,” he said. “He and a friend of his had an old plane that they kept on a grass strip down in Salem, South Carolina. There is no doubt that my love of flying started with my dad. We would go to Salem nearly every Sunday after church and hang out with the other guys, sitting around a little old building drinking Coca-Cola out of small glass bottles. Every hour or so someone would go fly and we would hop in and take off.” Robby took flying lessons while attending Clemson University. Until he ran out of money that is.
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After returning to his hometown of Florence, Robby took a part-time job at the Florence Airport as a lineman to pay for lessons. “I continued learning from some amazing flight instructors right here in Florence,” he said. Benji and Robby have been friends for years. Their wives worked together so they intertwined socially. The two would exchange pleasantries and go straight into the latest news in flight activity. Living nearby the airport, Benji would watch the planes taking off and landing as they came into Florence. “I would always tell my wife that I wish I had learned to fly,” Benji said. His wife, Lache, took note and purchased him a Discovery Flight with Robby in 2013. “Robby became my instructor and taught me to fly.” At the time, Robby owned Carolina Flight with a physician in Florence who later moved out of town. When the need arose to find a new partner, the option seemed obvious. “I knew that Benji wanted to be more involved and it was a very easy decision to have him as a partner in the school,” said Robby. Together the team works with individuals on gaining their pilot certificate with personal and career goals in mind. While the idea of becoming a pilot may
