David Welch has spent 38 years in the aircraft brokerage world, but the foundations of his career were set long before he entered the industry. His earliest memories of aviation came from home. His father served as an Air Force navigator, and the stories that filtered through the household captured his imagination at an age when most children are still figuring out the difference between cars and airplanes. As he recalled:

“My dad was in the Air Force as a navigator and so stories sort of got my juices flowing when I was, you know, four or five years old… Every stage there, going from hearing stories to building plastic models to building radio-controlled models, the love for aviation just got deeper and deeper and deeper.”

The thread continued as he grew up. Plastic bomber models became radio-controlled aircraft, and weekends often revolved around working odd jobs so he could afford the hobby. Aviation was always the direction of travel, even if the route turned out to be more complicated than expected.

He began college not out of a clear plan but for personal reasons—following a girlfriend—and ended up completing what he calls a “dime-a-dozen” business management degree. It wasn’t aviation, and it didn’t feel connected to his long-term goals. In the final semester, unsure what came next, he spoke with a next-door neighbour who flew B1 bombers. That conversation rekindled the idea of a flying career, and he applied to the Air Force. To his surprise and pride, he was selected from a pool of thousands.

But life took another turn. He got married while waiting for pilot training, and when he arrived at Officer Training School with a pilot slot, the programme didn’t match the future he had imagined. Many instructors who had once earned pilot ratings were now teaching marching or basic coursework. The environment felt rigid and uninspiring. After 13 days, he self-eliminated from training—a significant decision but, as he describes it, the right one at the time.

With around $1,500 and his new wife, he moved to Austin, Texas. What followed was the accidental start of a decades-long career. He walked into what he now describes as a questionable placement agency, mentioned he held a pilot’s licence, and was immediately placed with Gantt Aviation. His job was simple: sit in a cubicle and cold-call owners of King Air E90s to see if they might sell. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was aviation.

Gantt Aviation was the largest used King Air dealer in the world, and it relied on hungry college graduates to do much of the groundwork. Welch became part of that system, learning the mechanics of the industry from the bottom up.

“Starting from the ground up, as an aircraft researcher… I was able to watch very closely how the sales staff would sell and learned what was important, what wasn’t, learned what most people are driven by. Sitting back and watching the system was better than any college course you could take.”

Over time, his skills became more valuable, and he was hired by another dealer to start their buying research programme before transitioning into sales. That shift opened a new side of the business, one he found both exciting and mentally engaging. The adrenaline of a deal—and the psychology behind it—became central to why he stayed. As he put it:

“I like the kill of finding and signing a contract… that’s the first spike of adrenaline. Then there’s the sword fight of dealing with an end user. I love the psychology of it… After that, of course, the wire transfer hitting your bank account is pretty sweet too.”

The brokerage world, he explained, is full of pitfalls. Much of the broker’s job is simply protecting clients from making costly mistakes.

“There are so many places to mess up… If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can really make things horrible for your client. Largely what a broker will do is protect him from the noise, the hassle, the stress, of turning an airplane into cash or the other way around.”

The industry itself has changed dramatically over his career. When he started, communication was slow and cumbersome.

“When I walked in the door of the hangar in 1987, the only way to communicate other than phone was through the telex machine… What’s changed is speed. When I started in ’87, a deal would take forever because communication was archaic.”

Today the pace is much faster, and the market moves accordingly.

He also discussed how aircraft markets function in broad terms. Supply, demand, and rough benchmarks tend to shape the landscape.

“Roughly 10% of every jet market is for sale. If there’s 10,000 Citations and 1,200 of them are for sale, well, that’s a buyer’s market. If there’s 800 for sale, then that’s a seller’s market… We brokers and dealers lean heavily on very round numbers.”

Despite the growth of technology, some parts of the business remain unchanged. One of them is the need to actively pick up the phone.

“What’s most common is hardcore cold calling. That hasn’t changed in 38 years… People have tried to substitute picking up the phone with other things and it hasn’t been effective. The most effective way is just to call. You build relationships that way.”

Welch is also open about the industry’s challenges. Regulation and rising costs, he says, are taking some of the joy out of aviation.

“It is going down now because of regulation… The rules and regulations are getting so onerous and so expensive that it’s taking the fun out of it, taking the financial interest out of it.”

He is likewise sceptical about the future of electric aviation:

“As an old guy looking at the electric side of things, I’m very skeptical… It’s hard for me to believe that electric propulsion will be a viable means of transportation.” Yet despite these pressures, he still believes flying itself is accessible to far more people than they realise. “Flying does not require a learned attorney to do. If you can drive a car and not have an accident, you can learn to be a pilot… You pass the check ride, and poof, you’re a pilot.”

And despite the stress and complexity of the business, he continues to find satisfaction in the work itself.

“There’s a whole lot of noise in this industry, a whole lot of stress… But if you can stay focused on the idea that you love airplanes and flying is fun, then that can keep the juices flowing.”

Welch's story is one of steady development: early fascination, unexpected setbacks, practical learning, and a long career built on consistent effort rather than dramatic breakthroughs. The podcast discussion highlights how those pieces fit together—from childhood models and Air Force aspirations to brokerage calls, negotiations, and decades of understanding how aircraft markets really work.

To hear the episode in full, listen above. Coverage by Ned Stranger.