Lowell Wiley was born in Salvisa, Kentucky in 1936 into a family of aviators. In 1956, he took his first few flying lessons, but it would be two years before he decided that he wanted to pursue aviation and he soloed in October of 1958. In September 1959, he left the Air Force and returned to Lexington. To get more flying hours, he joined the local unit of the Civil Air Patrol as well as became a member of the Fayette Flying Club.

Next came his commercial pilot license as well as his instructor's rating in 1963, followed by receiving his instrument & multi-engine rating the following year. By the spring of 1964, Lowell was now working as a freelance pilot, flying for Capitol Air Taxi in Frankfort, Bohmer Flying Service in Lexington & Kentucky Flying Service in Louisville, as well as working as the corporate pilot for Martinette Corporation, also in Lexington. In December of 1965, Wiley becomes one of the founding members of the Fayette Aero Club.

By 1969, he had earned the Airline Transport Pilot rating for single & multi-engine airplanes & the commercial rating for single rotor helicopters. He was also rated as a Certified Flight Instructor for planes, instruments & helicopters as well as a basic & advanced ground instructor. In 1973 Lowell started on-demand flight operation in Lexington, Skyway Enterprises. In 1976, he earned his single & multi-engine seaplane ratings. In 1978, he started working with Del Rio Flying Service in Hondo, Texas, instructing USAF Academy cadets.

In 2009, he had accumulated more than 20,000 hours of flying. Also that year, Lowell was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of flight safety.