Matt “Gaucho” Prevatt grew up in Patuxent River, MD listening to his Dad’s stories of cold war era P-3 missions and watching Naval aircraft conducting test flights overhead. Ever since his first flight in a Stearman biplane as a teenager, he has passionately pursued a career in aviation.
After graduation from high school, Matt was selected to attend the prestigious United States Naval Academy, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering. After earning his commission as a United States Naval Officer, he was selected for Navy flight training in Pensacola, FL. He achieved Commodore’s List honors and received his “Wings of Gold”.
Initial sea duty for Matt was with the Black Knights of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron four stationed at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA. During this tour, he flew the MH-60S multi-engine, multi-crew helicopter, and he completed two carrier-based deployments to South America and the western Pacific as well as additional surge detachments. While assigned, he quickly qualified as Helicopter Aircraft Commander, and subsequently was qualified as a formation flight leader, a standardization instructor, and a functional check flight evaluator.
After four years in San Diego, Matt was selected as an instructor in the T-6B Texan II for the Navy’s primary flight training at NAS Whiting Field. He served in Training Squadron Six where he was recognized as the 2019 Instructor Pilot of the Year. He was also selected as an Out-of-Control flight instructor responsible for training and evaluation of the other instructors in his squadron. This experience laid the foundation for his appreciation of the importance of Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) for pilots of all experience levels.
His exceptional performance as an instructor lead to the unique honor of serving as an exchange officer and flight instructor in Argentina. He spent two years instructing at the Argentine Naval Flight School in the T-34C Turbo Mentor entirely in Spanish.
Matt joined APS in 2024, and draws on his wealth of experience while providing advanced flight instruction and academic briefings for Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) courses.
