The Owners
Darrell Dicey
Darrell has been flying since he was 17 years old. He started his aviation dream as a child with big dreams of flying an Apache helicopter. He began flight training before graduating high school and then began his military career at 18 in the Army. He did just that where he spent 12 years with the 101st Airborne Division flying the Apache AH-64 D where he flew countless combat missions in the Afghan/Iraq timeframe.
After his military career, he began a helicopter EMS (medivac) career as a civilian where he flew for various air medical companies for nearly 12 years providing safe transportation for people in their sickest moments.
In 2022, he quit full time work to fly full time at Dicey Aviation. He boasts over 5,000 flight hours. He holds numerous flight ratings to include Airplane CFI, CFII, commercial helicopter pilot, Aircraft Mechanic (Airframe and Powerplant), and commercial UAV operator. He currently functions as the Owner, Chief Pilot, Chief Flight Instructor, Director of Maintenance for Dicey Aviation and Dicey Aviation Aircraft Maintenance Division.
Family is of upmost importance to Darrell. He and his wife prioritize their marriage and their family at the top of the list. He has 3 children, two of which are grown and 1 who is pre-school aged. He has 2 school aged step children as well.
Darrell is also an avid woodworker, fisherman, firearm enthusiast, sports lover, bourbon connoisseur, and gastronome. But there’s nothing he loves more than flying and family!
The Dicey dream is to allow their children the privilege of growing up in/around aviation.
Amberly Dicey
From the young age of 2, Amberly had a hunger for aviation. As a toddler, her mother and father would have to stop near large airports during travel to let her see the planes fly over…or there would be big trouble…
As a young woman, Amberly was much like most women in aviation and became quite discouraged and was denied the support needed to pursue a career in aviation. Nevertheless, she persisted. She became a Registered nurse, graduating with 2 associates degrees and then a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Eastern Kentucky University. Her goal was to be a flight nurse, which she achieved during her 5th year of critical care nursing. With nearly 10 years of critical care nursing under her belt, she decided to open a flight school with her husband and let their original dreams of raising a family in aviation…take flight…
Amberly now holds a Private Pilot certificate and is currently in pursuit of an instrument rating, advance ground instructor, and ultimate goal is to become an instructor for Dicey Aviation. She currently holds the title of Director of Operations and Assistant Chief Pilot for Dicey Aviation and still works in the local emergency department along with flying for a local medevac provider as a flight nurse.
Amberly is active in the volunteer community as a volunteer photographer for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, director and creator of Kentucky Cuddle Cot Campaign, and is a birth and bereavement doula. These are all services provided to families who experience pregnancy, infant, or neonatal loss…as she is a bereaved mother herself. She has also been a lifestyle photographer since 2007.
As a wife, birth mother of 4, step mother of 2, and a family oriented person, she has the same goals as Darrell with family and children being top tier. She enjoys photography, flying, traveling, shopping, gardening, Mexican food, trying to enjoy the little things, and a good glass of Kentucky bourbon.
Dicey Aviation was formed, conceptually speaking, in July 2019. Darrell and Amberly decided to make their dream a reality. They worked diligently trying to find a space to operate out of, an aircraft, and to form a business plan.
In March of 2020, they found a plane to lease from a friend from out of state who so graciously lent their Cherokee 140 to them for nearly a year. This is when Dicey Aviation really…took off…(pun intended). At the height of the pandemic, for a new business, things were complicated, but they persevered. One by one, students started learning.
The plan was by their 5th year of operation, to have purchased an airplane. In December of 2020, they purchased their first airplane, a Tampico TB-9. They let the Cherokee 140 go back to its rightful home in North Carolina. In March 2021, after in person restrictions lifted some, they had their in person ribbon cutting with the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.
Only a few months later, they purchased their first Piper Warrior, with a plan to acquire a fleet of Warriors for primary flight instruction. They then shortly after that, they acquired another Warrior and sold the TB-9 to a student who finished their private pilot with them. By January 2023, they had purchased 3 more aircraft.
Currently, they operate with three Piper Warriors and a Piper Arrow II that is a great rental and cross country complex aircraft. They have 2 operating locations in Kentucky (Somerset and Williamsburg) and one in Tennessee, (Livingston). They have even temporarily taken over flight instruction at other locations to organize and get the business back on track. They employ 4 instructors outside the Chief Flight Instructor, have an average of about 50 students with these two locations, and have big plans for the near future. It’s 2024 and they are in year 5 of operation are thankful to have achieved not only their 5 year business plan but beyond that!
They are forever thankful for the support of friends, family, local businesses, Mayor Alan Keck, the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, SPEDA and Chris Girdler, David Morris, Delynn Gibson, the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport board of directors, and many others who have been such a support system along the way. Teamwork makes the dream work!
