Unlike many in aviation, Cole White didn’t have childhood dreams of earning his wings in the Top Gun fighter program or flying in formation with the Thunderbirds.

His dreams were of serving in the Army and playing baseball, both of which he accomplished by his early 20s – graduating from West Point and being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008.

Now, nearing the age of 40 and after spending nearly a decade at two leading private jet firms, he has focused on attaining another dream – growing his own aircraft brokerage into a trusted market leader.

White recently celebrated the launch of Dallas-based Legion Aviation, and he is getting straight to work on marketing his first listing. He chose to name his company Legion because of the word’s military roots, a group of Roman soldiers.

“I want to build not overnight but over time to grow a legion of solid aircraft salesmen,” White told GlobalAir.com, “people who are high integrity, high character and fun to be around.”

With family roots in oil and gas in West Texas, White said Dallas brings “a ton of opportunity.” Still, he expects the growth of this business to be a slow burn – self funded with room to grow.

“I know it’s going to be successful,” he said. “I have no doubt.”

Cole White playing baseball for the Army Black Knights / Photo from Army Baseball Facebook page

After an All-American baseball campaign at West Point, where he set school records in career home runs, doubles, total bases and slugging percentage, White served two years in the Army before being granted an early release to play professional baseball.

“One day I’m training for Iraq, the next day I’m playing professional minor league baseball,” he said.

White and his son in front of a 1st Cavalry Division tank while attending an Army vs. Air Force football game in Dallas. / Photo from Cole White 

After several seasons in the minors, he hung up his cleats in 2012. But the next chapter in his professional life didn’t come right away.

“At some point, you’ve got to grow up and figure out … what to do with the rest of (your) life,” he said.

In 2016, he was introduced to Mente Group CEO Brian Proctor and the aviation bug bit him.

“I learned that jets, they’re cool,” he said. “They’re cool to look at, cool to ride.”

White worked on behalf of Mente with Fortune 500 flight departments and first-time aircraft buyers, learning the economics and decision-making of the bizav biz.

From there, he climbed the ladder into aircraft sales before taking a position with Oklahoma City-based JetHQ in 2022, working with clients in the Central US. The types of planes he closed deals on covered the spectrum.

“King Airs, PC-12s all the way up to Gulfstreams,” he said, later noting the 3,000 transactions a year in private aviation. “I’m looking to get just a small piece of that.”

White’s goal is to grow and build a team of like-minded individuals to serve his clients in the Wild West of private jet sales.

“I pride myself on being really transparent, high character,” he said. “My whole goal is to create a list of repeat clients.”