Name: Adam Sipe
Age: 32
Occupation: Co-founder and President, Airplane Intel, Inc. We help people buy, maintain, and manage their airplane. By trade, I am a certificated flight instructor (CFI) and Airframe and Power Plant mechanic with Inspection Authorization (A&P/IA). In other words, I fix and fly airplanes.
Business/Workplace: Airplane Intel, Inc. located at the Ocala International Airport (KOCF).
Grand goal in life: To have a passionate and disciplined commitment to balanced excellence.
When not working, I … enjoy spending time with my family; Sarah and I are expecting our first child in December. Because aviation is my passion, it is often difficult for me to separate my hobbies from my job. Even when not working, I enjoy flying to new places in Florida for lunch or a quick stop to the beach. Sarah and I have recently taken on a new hobby since being in Ocala of exploring Florida’s state parks. We would love to get a small boat to do more fishing and exploring of everything Central Florida has to offer. I also enjoy reading, running and playing guitar. We just bought our first house in Belleview last year, so I am really enjoying the process of learning how to do small projects around the house and taking care of my lawn.
What I like about Ocala: I have had the opportunity to live in several cities within Florida, including Jacksonville and Orlando. While in the military, I have lived in multiple states and have met a lot of great and interesting people. However, the one thing that has always attracted me to Ocala is the sincere sense of hospitality. I feel welcome; I feel at home here. Being in Ocala brings me a unique sense of comfort and wholeness.
Pet peeve: I am sure many people would agree, there’s not enough time in the day. Thus, my biggest pet peeve is wasting time. A close second is being cold. I would rather sweat than freeze to death.
Philosophy in a word: Adapt. Everything is temporary and change is occurring all the time. I believe in accepting change rather than denying it. One must always be flexible and adaptable to change in virtually every aspect of life to flourish.
Personal superpower: I would consider my biggest superpower to be grit. I do not consider myself very talented and I do not come from a wealthy family. As a result, I have had to work extraordinarily hard for what I have, and I continue to work hard every day. Grit builds long-term discipline, skills and knowledge. I believe that grit will always outperform talent and money in the long run.
If you could have superpower, it would be … because I love flying, my superhuman power would be to be able to fly like a bird. It really is a whole different world up there.
Favorite cause: As a combat veteran, I believe in causes that help veterans. An organization that I support is the Veterans Airlift Command. They provide air transportation services to veterans with combat injuries and their families.
Guilty pleasure: A guilty pleasure of mine is jamming out to heavy metal music while driving, running, or cutting the grass.
Historical dinner date: A person I would love to have a dinner date with is my grandfather, Sonny Bradigan. He served 30 years in the Navy but passed away when I was very young. I have a lot of questions for him!
People who know me say I am . . . People that know me would probably tell you that I am passionate, devoted, and dependable in everything I do.
Biggest personal achievement: A personal achievement that I am most proud of is my military service. I am extremely grateful to be an American and I am proud that I had the opportunity to serve my country in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years of active duty, which included a combat deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn.
Biggest professional achievement: My proudest professional achievement was becoming a flight instructor. I love flying and I love teaching others the art and science of flight. I consider it a great privilege to help people achieve their goals of becoming a pilot and taking to the skies.
Favorite part of profession: My favorite part about my profession is that there is always something new to learn across a wide spectrum of topics. Everything from the flying and instructing side, to the maintenance and management side, all the way to fun topics like weather and aircraft transactions. No one knows it all and there’s always something new to discover.
I indulge too much in . . . If there is one thing that I indulge in too much, it would be chocolate. If there was no consequence to eating brownies, Oreos, or dark chocolate bars, I would eat them every single day!
