Evolution Aviators

High Performance Flight Services ★ 877 867 6020

Lane Graden

Chadds Ford, PA

Lane Graden received his private pilot license in 1989 at Smoketown Airport in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. After retiring from Nether Providence Police Department in 1999, he earned his Instructors and Instrument Instructors license in 2000, where he began working for Advantage Aero at Lancaster Airport (KLNS). He later became Assistant Chief Flight Instructor. In 2003, Lane earned a Cirrus Instructor Certification along with his ATP rating, and also managed a Cirrus Flight Training center at KLNS until 2006 when the flight school closed.

In 2004, Lane received a Columbia Instructors Certification in Bend, Oregon and eventually received certification in both models of Columbia/ Cessna. He is a member of the CAART and has served as an instructor since its beginning. Lane is currently flying a Columbia 400 for a corporate client in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, and is an instructor with Evolution Aviators; along with doing recurrent and transition training for current Columbia/Cessna and Cirrus pilots. He resides in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter.

"Evolution has been an amazing asset in flying and managing my Eclipse 500 since delivery. They've always bent over backwards to get the job done, whether it was traveling to support an AOG aircraft or working with my technicians in the 110 degree Phoenix heat. If you're a Eclipse, Cirrus, Columbia or Corvalis owner, you owe it to... continue »

—Larry B.

“Exception professionalism. Discreet, effective.”

—Jim T.

“The two times that I have worked with Evolution, they have been very professional and personable. They are always looking out for their clients welfare when coming to Aero Industries to fly an aircraft for them, which I hold in high esteem as that is what I also do.”

—Lanette Courier

“I highly recommend Evolution Aviators. I initially hired Evolution to provide aircraft acquisition consulting services. They thoroughly reviewed logbooks and provided excellent feedback based on their extensive knowledge of the various aircraft I was considering. They oversaw the pre-buy inspection process from top to bottom for the... continue »

—Ryan Y.

“I have found Darryl to be extremely knowledgable regarding the Eclipse. I consulted with Darryl during my acquisition and training. He could not have been more helpful and giving with his time an expertise.”

—Jamie D.

“Smart, knowledgeable, involved and engaged, and knows ins and outs of columbia aircraft. Money well spent.”

—Doug R.

“Darryl's deep expertise in aircraft maintenance complemented by his situational management skills enables him to provide great value to any aircraft owner. His insight and practical recommendations have resulted in savings and cost avoidances many times greater than the cost of service. More than that, he is willing and able to take the... continue »

—Mario F.

I just spend three days with Bill Tinney of Evolution Aviators. I engaged them to do a pre-annual inspection of my aircraft and some flight training. I feel that it was time and money well spent as Bill thoroughly examined my aircraft and filed a report of it's condition. He also made recommendations to Southeast Aero to correct the... continue »

—Don Sak

In September I took 2 days of training with Bill. It was a great experience and worthwhile in terms of both time and money. I highly recommend it for anyone: new owners, pilots who can't make it to a CAART, or those who have attended enough CAARTs and want something more focused to their particular needs.

—Peter Brester

The one year Maintenance Support Program is invaluable by itself. Now that I've experienced the value I will never be able to go without it. It pays for itself many times over each year.

—Rob Lay

A few weeks ago I signed up with Evolution in preparation for my last annual under warranty. All I can say is that they are awesome! Bill Tinney spent three hours going over every square inch of my airplane. He found a number of issues that I was not even aware of and figured out where my vibrations are originating. We also went on a 2+... continue »

—Stacey Greenhill

I would HIGHLY recommend everyone use the experts at Evolution Aviators. The service provided and knowledge on the airframe are well worth the fee.

—Doug Schied

Darryl, many thanks for your outstanding responsiveness on behalf of my friend Carl. As I mentioned, Bruce Rebbichini at JA Air Center in Aurora, Illinois is who recommended you. As a former 3 time (or more) mechanic of the year and the foreman of the finest Turbine and Piston maintenance shop (one of the largest as well-170,000 sq feet... continue »

—Mark Graubart

I wanted to let you know I really appreciate you coming over to help me with the RTS. I am not at all sure I would have caught the items you identified and if I had, I am not sure I would have made the right decision (to leave the plane there for resolution), I will look forward to flying with you when we can do some dual.

—Lon Rosado

Evolution's competent instruction quickly taught me with what I needed to know to master the G1000’s instrument approach capabilities in my Columbia 400.

—Barton Waring

After learning about Evolution Aviators, I called Dion (my factory instructor) to help me finish up my IR training; I wasn't disappointed!  

Evolution and its network of highly experienced and professional Columbia instructors provided:

A skill and confidence building program to help me achieve my goal
Quality directed... continue »

—Clyde Hershan

If you plan to buy a new or used aircraft, you owe it to yourself to use Evolution Aviators. Have them do a pre-buy inspection and test flight. Do not think that a standard mechanic’s pre-buy inspection is sufficient. Evolution Aviators will find squawks that mechanics will not find, and they will make sure the plane flies safely and... continue »

—Tom Cooper

Last year, I received a bill from my mechanic for $12,000 to cover expenses related to my annual inspection. I handed it over to the Evolution Aviators team who addressed the individual line items with the shop. They were able to reduce my bill by almost half! I never imagined the EvoMx program would save me so much money.

—Martin Walker

This service would have been invaluable to me when I had a starter adapter  replaced last Spring. My plane was released as airworthy, yet it blew 4 quarts of oil on the 40-minute flight home! The shop's standard quality check did not catch  a vital error.

—Bette Gardner

Evolution Aviators' expert knowledge and experience with the Columbia gave me the confidence to consider, and ultimately purchase a used model and avoid the pit-falls that can often be encountered when going this route.

Evolution Aviators went beyond the call by going in the middle of a storm to get the airplane into a hangar.... continue »

—Dave