LEBANON, Tenn. (WTVF) — From the cockpit of a small aircraft soaring above Wilson County, pilot Joel Dopson sees a rapidly growing Middle Tennessee.
"It's just beautiful," Dopson said while flying above Lebanon during the National Music City STOL Competition. "Great horizon out here."
Dopson's passion for aviation began long before he became a Delta Air Lines captain.
Growing up near Monroe Regional Airport in Louisiana, he spent his childhood watching planes fly overhead from a trailer park near the airport.
"My mama and daddy said airplane was about the third word that I picked up," Dopson said.
That fascination eventually led him to fly F-16 fighter jets for the U.S. Air Force before beginning a career with Delta. Today, he still enjoys flying vintage aircraft, including a 71-year-old bush plane.
Dopson was among the pilots competing at the Music City STOL competition at Lebanon Municipal Airport. STOL, which stands for "short takeoff and landing," challenges pilots to take off and land in the shortest distance possible.
Organizers say the event is about more than competition. Proceeds from the event support flight training scholarships designed to help aspiring pilots enter the aviation industry at a time when airlines and aviation companies continue working to address pilot shortages.
"It's an interesting opportunity to expand anybody's horizons and get you interested and get you to meet new folks to do cool things," Dopson said. "Nobody out here is pretentious. Everybody's friendly."
Dopson hopes events like the Music City STOL Competition encourage others to explore aviation for themselves.
"Most small airports do have instructional facilities and aircraft that can be rented," he said.
For Dopson, a childhood dream became a lifelong career. Now, he hopes the next generation of pilots will find their own path into the skies.
"If you pick it up and learn to start," he said, "who knows?"
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