Our Team
Jason Bolz
Jason grew up on airplanes - living between the US and the UK, with his first flight at 6 months old. He knew he wanted to fly as long as he could remember. His initial training was in Florida, and after he became a CFI, began teaching in 2001 at CXO and DWH. In 2004 he went to fly at ExpressJet, and in 2007 he started at Continental/United. After flying the B737 for a few years, in 2013 he switched fleets to the B757/767. His current position is a B757/767 instructor. As the owner of Five X Five, he simply wants to give back - giving the pilots he trains quality flight experience. His hobbies include playing with his kids and participating in triathlons.
Travis Cantrell
Travis has always wanted to fly, but his aviation journey really started when he joined the Air Force after high school, where he spent a few years fixing fighter jets. In 2022 he dove headfirst into flying, earned his CFI license and started teaching at Five x Five. He started flying the Citation X for a 135 operator in 2024 and is currently flying a Praetor 500 for a large fractional operator when not teaching.
Devin Kelly
Born and raised in Texas. Devin had his first flight when he was 5 when him and his family flew to Tennessee and back to visit family. From there on he was hooked. Devin took his discovery flight in 2017 while he was at Texas A&M getting his bachelors degree. Deciding that degree was not for him, he pursued flight training full time after he moved back home from college in June 2021 and hasn’t stopped since. He became an instructor October 2022. He hopes in the future he can continue instruction and fly for United. Devin enjoys hunting, fishing and flying in his free time.
Joshua Kropinak
Joshua grew up in Minnesota and was introduced to aviation at a young age, first flying small airplanes with his family around the age of 14. After working as a website and e-commerce developer, he decided to make flying his career and moved to Texas to pursue his passion for aviation. He hopes to one day fly for United Airlines. In his free time, Joshua enjoys flying general aviation aircraft, cooking, swimming, and playing piano.
Mitchell Gropp
Mitchell was born and raised around airplanes and knew he would be a pilot very early. After he got to see the Texas Raiders B-17 in Conroe when he was little, that sealed the deal for him. He completed all of his training in the Houston area and now teaches in CXO while also attending the University of Houston. He wants to one day fly at United Airlines with his dad who flies there currently, and his wife, who also aspires to one day be an airline pilot as well. Mitchell loves to talk about airplanes, the NFL (particularly his Houston Texans), and Formula 1.
Owen Deaver
Owen was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He was introduced to airplanes and cars at a young age through family connections. Originally Owen wanted to pursue aviation as a hobby but eventually decided to make aviation a full-time part of his life. He attended a part 141 flight school to earn all of his certificates and intends on continuing his experience by flying any airplane he has the opportunity to climb into. While Owen considers flying as his favorite pastime, he also enjoys cooking, spending time with friends, and traveling to new places.
Melanie Prieto
Melanie was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Houston, TX. She comes from a United Airlines aviation family, with family members throughout both the cockpit and airline operations. Surrounded by aviation from an early age, she went on to complete all of her flight training through a Part 141 program and is now a member of the United Aviate program. Her ultimate goal is to fly wide-body aircraft around the world. As an instructor, Melanie enjoys sharing her passion for aviation and helping her students become safe, knowledgeable, and confident pilots while having fun along the way.
