Meet Jenny Hawk: From Waitress to Aviation Entrepreneur
How a 20-Year-Old Server Became One of the Outer Banks' Most Successful Aviation Business Owners
Every time you see a plane towing a banner above the beaches of the Outer Banks, or watch a red biplane soar over the Wright Brothers Memorial, there's a good chance Jenny Hawk is behind it. But her path to becoming one of the region's most successful aviation entrepreneurs started in an unexpected place: a restaurant kitchen.
Dreaming of Flight
In 2008, Jenny Hawk was a 20-year-old waitress, splitting her time between shifts at the Rundown Café in Kitty Hawk and Miller's Waterfront in Nags Head. Like countless beachgoers before her, she'd look up at the little airplanes buzzing through the sky, towing colorful banners advertising happy hours and discount dinner buffets.
But unlike most people, Jenny didn't just wonder what it would be like to be up there. She decided to find out.
The First Flight
Looking for something to do between restaurant shifts, Jenny signed up for her first flying lesson. That inaugural flight took her along the coast to Ocracoke Island, and by the time she landed, she was hooked.
"I knew right then this was what I wanted to do," she recalls.
What followed was three years of intensive training, hundreds of flight hours logged between restaurant shifts, and an unwavering determination to turn her passion into a profession.
Building OBX Airplanes
In 2011, Jenny earned her commercial pilot's license and began offering flight training under the name OBX Airplanes. Working out of Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, she started small – teaching others to fly while continuing to build her own experience.
In 2012, she bought her first plane: a Cessna 150. Two years later, she added a Citabria to her growing fleet – her plane of choice for towing advertising banners along the beach.
From One Plane to Fourteen
What started with a single aircraft has grown into something remarkable. Today, OBX Airplanes operates a fleet of 14 planes and employs more than a dozen people, including pilots who have come from across the country to work on the Outer Banks.
The company offers:
- Scenic Air Tours – See the OBX from above in our comfortable Cessna
- Biplane Rides – Experience open-cockpit flying in our gorgeous red Waco
- Aerial Banner Advertising – The most visible advertising on the beach
- Flight Training – Learn to fly where aviation began
A Family Work Ethic
Jenny's drive comes from her roots. Raised on a Pennsylvania dairy farm, she learned early that success comes from hard work. Even in high school in Manteo, she juggled two or three jobs at a time.
Today, her brother Jesse Hawk works alongside her at OBX Airplanes, making it a true family operation.
Flying Where History Was Made
There's something poetic about Jenny's story. Here, at the very place where the Wright Brothers achieved the first powered flight in 1903, another aviation pioneer has built her dream.
"This isn't just a job," Jenny says. "Every day I get to fly over the spot where it all began. There's no place like this in the world."
The Adventure Continues
Jenny's journey hasn't always been smooth – she's faced challenges that would have grounded most people (including a serious crash in 2015 that she miraculously survived). But through it all, her passion for flight has never wavered.
Today, when you book a tour with OBX Airplanes, you're not just getting a flight – you're becoming part of a story that started with a young waitress looking up at the sky and daring to dream.
Ready to experience what Jenny fell in love with? Book your flight today and see the Outer Banks from a whole new perspective.
OBX Airplanes operates from First Flight Airport, Manteo, NC – 252.473.2442