Pilot Profile
Kevin Palmer
Robotic Automation Engineer
Kevin Palmer was born and raised in Truckee, California where he was introduced to aviation. Starting on Microsoft flight simulator at around ten years old, he soon moved onto Radio Controlled aircraft including home-built designs he would fly and crash with his brother Trent only to rebuild and fly again. At the age of 16 Kevin was a one-man crew for a commercial hot air balloon operation based out of KTRK, where he eventually got his first ride in a general aviation aircraft. It took him high, straight, and while it was a fun experience it seemed unobtainable at the time and Kevin drifted away from aviation. Instead he became an Engineer specializing in robotic automation integration running his own company Battleborn Automation LLC in Reno, Nevada, where he's called home for the last decade.
It took his brother, Trent Palmer, and his endless adventures and YouTube videos to rekindle Kevin's interest in aviation. In 2018 Trent gave Kevin a discovery flight voucher good for a flight in a factory-built Kitfox for Christmas. Cruising low-level desert roads at 90mph smoother than he ever thought possible, this was the type of flying that Kevin wanted to do. With Trent's prodding, he realized he could get into aviation for less than the cost of a new truck. About two months later Kevin bought his first Kitfox, and he's been hooked ever since. He competed in his first STOL Drag in 2019 at High Sierra Fly-In, and is returning with more horsepower for the 2021 season in his Kitfox Model IV running a Rotax 912ULS engine.
Aircraft:
Kitfox Model IV - Rotax 912ULS
