OUR STORY · SOUTH FLORIDA, USA

Aviation is personal.
So is Dusty Flyer.

I’m Alex Kosinski—a pilot, an aviation humor creator with over 70,000 followers on Instagram (@pilots_way), and the founder of Dusty Flyer, an American aviation brand based in South Florida.

A life in aviation. A brand built around it.

Alex Kosinski sitting on the wing of a Piper in Florida

Alex Kosinski watching an aircraft pass overhead at Maho Beach, Saint Martin — Maho Beach, Saint Martin. The energy that made me want to fly.

THE PERSON BEHIND THE BRAND

From looking up to taking flight.

For a long time, I was the person looking up whenever an airplane passed overhead.

Then I visited Maho Beach on Saint Martin. The aircraft, the sound, the energy—it made the idea of flying feel impossible to ignore. I wanted to learn.

Eventually, I did. Today, I fly—and aviation connects the stories I share with the things we create.

THE FIRST PIECES

It started with one shirt.

Back in 2020, we began making individual pieces to mark personal aviation milestones. A student completed a first solo. We drew the design by hand and made a shirt to remember it.

These were one-off projects, before there was a brand. As more requests came in, aircraft illustrations from earlier orders became the beginnings of our catalog. We built a website and introduced online personalization, making it easier for more pilots to tell their own stories.

@PILOTS_WAY · INSTAGRAM

The jokes pilots understand.

On my Instagram account, @pilots_way, I share aviation humor—especially exchanges between pilots and air traffic control that other aviation people immediately understand.

Some of those jokes became popular, sparking an idea: turn them into illustrated comics.

Visit @pilots_way

Alex Kosinski holding the FL 3500 FlyGags comic beside the Piper shown in the artwork — The aircraft. The joke. The piece you can take home.

FLYGAGS → DUSTY FLYER

When the joke leaves the screen.

That idea became FlyGags in 2024: aviation humor turned into illustrated pieces you can hold, display, and share.

But people also asked for designs beyond the jokes. So we brought the different sides of our work together under Dusty Flyer, with FlyGags remaining our aviation humor line.

From a first solo to a familiar joke, it all comes from the same connection to flying.

Watch the Original Joke on Instagram ↗

BEHIND THE ARTWORK

From sketch to flight.

I develop the ideas and stories, work with our illustration team, and personally oversee every stage—from the first illustration to the finished product. These original sketches show how our Pilot School comic took shape—from exploring the character and aircraft to the finished piece.