Jim LaNier was an enthusiastic supporter of On His Wings Flight Academy's mission of training pilots in a Christian atmosphere. Now, as On His Wings Flight Academy is taking on the additional task of training mission pilots to serve God around the world, it is truly sad to learn of Jim's passing. However, a tremendous blessing comes from this tragedy. Jim's family expressed his desire to financially support the work that On His Wings Flight Academy is doing and has offered an endowment. On His Wings Flight Academy is creating the Jim Lanier Scholarship Fund in honor of Jim's love of God and his support of our mission. The following is a tribute to Jim from his daughter, Brandy LaNier.

"To sum up such a man in just a few simple words is a very hard task. Jim LaNier was a huge blessing to so many people on so many levels. This man touched the lives of people he barely knew, and sometimes, did not even know. Jim was exceptionally close to the Lord. Daily devotion time and every decision was based on God's greater plan and the submission to His will. A superb example of a vessel for God's work. Jim had a beautiful wife of 33 years and two daughters, who were all his world. Everything he did was based on God first and then revolved around Joyce, Brandy and Jamie. There is such a thing as soul mates and Jim and Joyce were proof of this. Jim was also an "aeronut", brainwashed on everything aviation related. Since he was a small child he knew flying and airplanes was for him. It was "in his blood", as he put it. He had several years flying experience as a private pilot and flew his Talon XP Ultralight for pure joy and recreation. It was his "magic carpet ride". Recently retired from Delta Airlines after 21 years of service as a  senior technician for Ground Training Support, Jim was looking for another outlet to utilize his skills in aviation to serve the Lord. He was passionate about the fact that On His Wings was creating an aviation mission to train pilots to serve God. The "papa smurf" teacher that he was would be elated to know that, in some way, he was involved in someone else learning to be a pilot."  Brandy LaNier, Beloved Daughter