When Spano failed the Navy’s 20/20 vision test in 1995, he pivoted that setback into a business blueprint. He and his brother Chris launched a traffic‑control side gig while working at their father’s crane firm, and by 2000 it had become a full‑time operation.
Today the firm spans more than 50 locations across the United States, generating over $1 million in daily revenue. It offers traffic control, engineering, sign manufacturing, equipment rental, and 24‑hour emergency dispatch, and has earned the title of the country’s largest privately held traffic‑control company.
In 2015, the company’s finance chief suggested buying a small aircraft as a tax write‑off, prompting Spano to purchase a Cessna, learn to fly, and cut travel time across California. A $2 million helicopter purchase followed, and a partnership with Hollywood aerial coordinator Fred North added aerial filming to the portfolio.
The turning point came when Spano modified an Embraer Phenom 300 into a camera jet, installing dual camera rigs and securing FAA certification after eighteen months of work and a seven‑figure investment. He flew the jet alongside veteran film pilot Kevin LaRosa during most of the aerial sequences in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, including the carrier shots.
The camera jet has since flown for NetJets, Flexjet, Gulfstream, Embraer, Delta, the U.S. Air Force, and National Geographic, earning an Emmy nomination for the northern lights footage. With Paramount green‑lighting a third Top Gun film, Spano is poised to return to the sky, continuing to blend aviation and film.