About Matt Menza
Born in Boulder. Raised in Colorado.
Matt was born at Boulder Community Hospital and raised in Boulder and Colorado Springs. From a young age, Matt loved flying and building mechanical and electrical devices. Before he was able to fly, Matt built and flew his own model airplanes, including the radio controlled airplane pictured right.
From Model Airplanes to the Navy: Making a Dream Reality
Matt returned to Boulder to attend CU Boulder while training in the ROTC program. Matt graduated in 1996 with a mechanical engineering degree and was immediately commissioned into the United States Navy to attend pilot training. After completing pilot training, Matt earned his Navy wings and began his military career. In 2014, Matt received his master’s degree in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
Defending American Freedom and Liberties Overseas
During Matt’s Navy career he was deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan, participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations. His last deployment took him away from his family for a year. He was deployed on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) twice, USS George Washington (CVN 73), and did Carrier Operations on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
Matt has 397 carrier landings in the EA-6B Prowler aircraft. After Matt completed test pilot school with the Air Force, he spent over seven years as a Navy Test Pilot flying the FA-18E/F “Super Hornet” and the EA-18G “Growler.”
Returning Home: More Airplanes, Getting Married, and Having Five Children!
As a child, it was a life long dream of Matt’s to own his own airplane. From the very beginning of Matt’s military career, he set aside money each month to buy an airplane. After working hard and saving for many years, Matt bought his first airplane with the blessing of his super cool, amazing, and beautiful wife, Tara. Like other ancillary possessions such as an RV’s or boat, the Menza flying experience has brought years of amazing memories.
Matt met this super cool amazing beautiful wife in 2004 and they married in 2006. They have five beautiful children together. After outgrowing their first airplane that only sat five people, they sold it and bought a two-seat aerobatic airplane they can enjoy together on dates without the distraction of their children. Much to the chagrin of Tara, their children enjoy flying in the aerobatic airplane as well and she now has to share airplane time with them.
One of Matt’s greatest blessings is even though he was deployed and gone most of his military career, he was able to attend the birth of all of his children, which is a true feat for any military member!
From Seattle to Colorado
After retiring from 20 years in the Navy, Matt and his family moved to Seattle to work his dream job as a Boeing Test Pilot. Even though Matt loves the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the Seattle politics, traffic, and taxes proved to be unsustainable to raise his family.
They decided to move back to Matt’s beautiful home state of Colorado to plant roots and raise their large family. Matt and his family love the Colorado lifestyle and have taken advantage of skiing in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer.
Matt and his family have a small menagerie of household pets to include chickens, hamsters, a dog, a kitten, and a hedgehog. The kids enjoy bringing other forms of wildlife home, but Tara has to stop taking in animals at some point. The family also enjoys the fruits of their small backyard garden during the warmer months.
Born in Boulder. Raised in Colorado.
Matt was born at Boulder Community Hospital and raised in Boulder and Colorado Springs. From a young age, Matt loved flying and building mechanical and electrical devices. Before he was able to fly, Matt built and flew his own model airplanes, including the radio controlled airplane pictured right.
From Model Airplanes to the Navy: Making a Dream Reality
Matt returned to Boulder to attend CU Boulder while training in the ROTC program. Matt graduated in 1996 with a mechanical engineering degree and was immediately commissioned into the United States Navy to attend pilot training. After completing pilot training, Matt earned his Navy wings and began his military career. In 2014, Matt received his master’s degree in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
Defending American Freedom and Liberties Overseas
During Matt’s Navy career he was deployed four times to Iraq and Afghanistan, participating in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations. His last deployment took him away from his family for a year. He was deployed on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) twice, USS George Washington (CVN 73), and did Carrier Operations on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
Matt has 397 carrier landings in the EA-6B Prowler aircraft. After Matt completed test pilot school with the Air Force, he spent over seven years as a Navy Test Pilot flying the FA-18E/F “Super Hornet” and the EA-18G “Growler.”
Returning Home: More Airplanes, Getting Married, and Having 5 Children!
As a child, it was a life long dream of Matt’s to own his own airplane. From the very beginning of Matt’s military career, he set aside money each month to buy an airplane. After working hard and saving for many years, Matt bought his first airplane with the blessing of his super cool, amazing, and beautiful wife, Tara. Like other ancillary possessions such as an RV’s or boat, the Menza flying experience has brought years of amazing memories.
Matt met this super cool amazing beautiful wife in 2004 and they married in 2006. They have five beautiful children together. After outgrowing their first airplane that only sat five people, they sold it and bought a two-seat aerobatic airplane they can enjoy together on dates without the distraction of their children. Much to the chagrin of Tara, their children enjoy flying in the aerobatic airplane as well and she now has to share airplane time with them.
One of Matt’s greatest blessings is even though he was deployed and gone most of his military career, he was able to attend the birth of all of his children, which is a true feat for any military member!
From Seattle to Colorado
After retiring from 20 years in the Navy, Matt and his family moved to Seattle to work his dream job as a Boeing Test Pilot. Even though Matt loves the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the Seattle politics, traffic, and taxes proved to be unsustainable to raise his family.
They decided to move back to Matt’s beautiful home state of Colorado to plant roots and raise their large family. Matt and his family love the Colorado lifestyle and have taken advantage of skiing in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer.
Matt and his family have a small menagerie of household pets to include chickens, hamsters, a dog, a kitten, and a hedgehog. The kids enjoy bringing other forms of wildlife home, but Tara has to stop taking in animals at some point. The family also enjoys the fruits of their small backyard garden during the warmer months.
