Darian Matteo has loved airplanes for as long as he can remember. With a military family and lots of childhood visits to both military bases and museums he just knew he had to fly. But it was a surprise to find himself being a professional pilot for a company that is known for ground transportation.
Darian grew up in the Plattsmouth area and received his training at Revv Aviation in Council Bluffs. He was very familiar with Liquid Trucking so he decided to reach out to the owner, Roger Schmidt, and the rest is history.
Why does a trucking company need an airplane? As Darian explains, “We had a driver stuck in Amarillo and it would have been a 11 hour drive to send help, but we flew there in three.” He has also flown to the rescue in North Dakota right on the Canadian border and Illinois. However, the plane, A Cessna 335, is mostly utilized for flights to Liquid Trucking’s Barto location in South Sioux City. “We can turn a full day of travel and meetings by car into a half day by plane. That saves time and money.” says Matteo. I can travel with up to 5 other people, depending on weight in the Cessna.”
When he isn’t in the air, he is at his computer, working as an Assistant Manager of Liquid Trucking IT. His first big project was setting up 60 workstations last summer in the new Liquid Trucking headquarters. “I work mostly with software that is specialized for Trucking. I work to fix any small IT issues before sending them on.”