Matthew Watts

The Person Behind the Yoke

I'm a CFI born and raised in Houston, Texas, and I currently serve the Brazos Valley and Houston areas. I've been obsessed with flying since I was a kid. While other kids had toy trains, I had model airplanes. Before I could even fly myself, I'd spend hours at the airport with my grandfather, watching planes and imagining what it'd be like to be the one at the controls.

At 13, I wore my parents down enough to attend ground school at our local airport. That was it for me. The classes just intensified what I already felt about aviation. Two years later, when I was 15, my parents surprised me with a discovery flight. That was the moment everything changed. I haven't stopped flying since.

I soloed at 16 and got my Private Pilot license just after turning 17. My parents helped me buy my first plane, a 1974 Cessna 182 Skylane, and I flew it all the way from Visalia, California back to Houston. A few months later, I earned my Instrument Rating. I got my Commercial license shortly after my 18th birthday, and became a CFI just two weeks after graduating high school.

I'm at Texas A&M's Mays School of Business, majoring in Finance in the Business Honors program. Along the way, I've picked up my tailwheel endorsement, done aerobatic training, flown old crop dusters, and towed gliders. Those experiences shaped who I am as a pilot and instructor. I'm always learning, always flying, and genuinely excited to help the next generation fall in love with aviation the way I did.