Knox Hopkins has aviation in his blood. His great-grandfather was an engineer at Lockheed during the years of WWII and into the Cold War era. Although Knox never knew him, their family spoke about him often. As a child, he attended airshows and has fond memories of Boshears at Daniel Field in Augusta. Beyond that, Knox says, “My grandfather used to take us to the airport in Thomson, Georgia. A family friend of my grandparents built a biplane during the early to mid 1990s and encouraged us to “help” him. My older brother obtained his private certificate at the end of college; and I knew I’d need to also.”
In 2010, Knox attained his first fixed wing rating. He followed that by adding rotorcraft (helicopter) and seaplanes in 2012, then fixed wing instrument and commercial, multi-engine ATP and a few type ratings after that. He’s flown commercially since 2018 in various aircraft, including the King Air 200 and 350, Cessna Citation 560 Ultra and 560+ Excel. “I simply love aviation. It’s an industry I understand. I have the brain for flying. Pilots adventure with every flight we take. We see places, both familiar and new, daily. It’s a huge privilege to fly up front or as a passenger. It’s a huge responsibility to fly up front as the pilot in command.” Today he flies approximately 800 hours a year as a line captain for Direct Airways, in addition to being president of the company. Growing up on a farm prepared Knox well for this role. Comparing the two industries, he says, “There are many hats to wear in aviation, like on a farm. We respect weather and nature, we maintain and repair equipment and hardware. We carry high risk, high expenses, tight margins.” Knox takes his responsibilities as a pilot and company president to heart. “As the principal of the firm and one of the captains, I assure that every flight flown will be as if my family were on board. Simple.”
That’s not an empty statement, because Knox’s family means the world to him. He and his wife, Laine, met in late 2014, and enjoyed flying and travelling together. Knox says, “She’s always been strongly supportive of both my hobby and the professional side of aviation.” Now they have a six-year-old daughter and two-year-old son to add to their adventures. “As our kids reach a bit more independence and durability, we aim to take part of summer and winter breaks away from home so we can show them how awesome the rest of our earth is! Our family fits very well in the King Air. We can pack up our family, friends, and a load of luggage and fly direct to the Northeast. Boston, The Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket are easy trips that don’t require a stop. The Caribbean and Bahamas are a breeze.” With Direct Airways, he can give you and your family the same experience.
1 of 3
2 of 3
3 of 3
The Golden Isles community is also important to Knox. “My wife was born and raised here on St. Simons Island. My mother’s and father’s families have had ties here. I never thought I’d live here, as I grew up in Thomson and Augusta, but I was fortunate to have the opportunity to embrace this as the place where my wife desired to start our family. I have zero doubts about our decision to make this home. We love the pace, educational opportunities, social and work balance, ecology and environment. We have familiar memories and a wonderful existence here. We can walk to the airport as a career base or a hobby base. We can walk to our recreational, educational and social zones. It’s a wonderful village to be a part of and where to launch our lives.” It was a natural step for him to start Direct Airways here. “St. Simons Island isn’t underserved by general aviation, charter services, or military activity; however, there’s no charter operator based here. I live here, I am the principal of a part 135 charter operator, and it would be folly not to hang my tile at McKinnon Airport.”
With charter service now available on St. Simons Island, Direct Airways’ fleet includes a pair of King Air 350s with 9 passenger seats and room for 550 pounds of baggage (including about 9 golf bags), flown by two pilots. They can fly about 4 hours, and with zero winds at approximately 300kts, or about 1200 miles. Their Citation Excel-type mid-size jet that accommodates 7 passengers and two pilots. It also has about a 4-hour range but flies approximately 400-430kts or Mach .7-.75 and gives closer to 1800 miles typically. This means they can fly you anywhere in the lower 48, the Bahamas, the Caribbean islands, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico and all of Canada. If fuel stops are required, they are simply a 30-minute planned stop. They can operate out of relatively short fields of more than 3500ft.”
Knox says, “There are approximately 5000 airports in the U.S. and about 500 of those are primary airports. Tell us where you’re actually going, and we want to get you as close as possible, into your vehicle and off to the next phase of your endeavor. Direct trips to Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Charlotte, DC, NYC, other business centers, and all their surrounding areas are no sweat for the company. We love family trips to Bahamian aerodromes, direct flights over Cuba to Grand Cayman, and hunting trips to Mississippi in the depth of winter. As I stated earlier: adventure.”
“Of course, we’ll have disruptions due to weather, mechanical, or human resource hiccups; we are subject to the same conditions as any other industry or team, Knox acknowledges. “We will delay, divert or terminate a flight for the blessing of safety. My mantra: safety is first, comfort is second, and schedule is last, on the order of our missions. If you’re a frequent flyer or pilot, then you know what I mean by this. But the bottom line is that we want quality of service for our customers/clients. We strive for nothing less than to give you a safe flight that is comfortable and on-schedule; and we will tell you when we aren’t able to satisfy any of those three requirements.”
Direct Airways is about neighbors helping neighbors. “We welcome new backseat clients. We don’t have membership fees; simply call or email our sales desk.” Knox adds, “We also manage aircraft for existing owners whether they want their aircraft added to our charter fleet or simply to have it available purely for their personal use. Direct Airways coordinates training and flight scheduling for the crews, maintenance, hangaring, cleaning/detailing etc. Whether you own or want to own an aircraft, we’d love to assist by coordinating aircraft purchases and streamlining the entire process of management. We can connect you with our Director of Maintenance and Director of Operations to guide the process and make it seamless. It’s a high-barrier to entry industry and we have the team and tools in place to break through.”
Getting nice people to nice places is our specialty and we’ll treat you like family. We consider it a privilege to assist you. Come fly Direct. Call us at 772.264.4485 or visit flydx.com.
FAA certificate number: 06IA603K
