Six Renewals And Two Initial Designations Announced For Last Month

Master Instructors LLC and its Board of Review take pride in announcing a significant aviation accomplishment on the part of these very special aviation educators. Recently, they were all accredited as Masters by Master Instructors LLC, the international Master Instructor accrediting authority.

To help put this achievement in its proper perspective, there are approximately 93,000 CFIs in the United States. Fewer than 700 of them have earned Master accreditation thus far. As a measure of the prestige conferred by this title, the last 14 FAA National Flight Instructors of the Year were Master CFIs. In addition, the FAA has approved the accreditation as an alternate means for CFIs to renew their flight instructor certificates.

The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA and industry that is earned by a candidate through a rigorous process of continuing professional activity and peer review. Much like a flight instructor's certificate, it must be renewed biennially. This process parallels continuing education regimens used by other professionals to enhance their knowledge base while increasing their professionalism. Simply put, the Master Instructor designation is a means by which to identify those outstanding aviation educators, those "Teachers of Flight," who are demonstrating an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional growth, and service to the aviation community. 

Through their dedication to excellence, These Master Instructors have earned their "black belts" in aviation education.

Aviation educators who earned the "Master" title during October are:
Raymond W "Ray" Brown, Master CFI. Avon Lake, Ohio
E-mail:   RayTopGun@yahoo.com
Raymond W Brown, a 5-time Master and SAFE member, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Ray is president of Top Gun Flight Training Academy ( www.TopGunCleveland.com ) at Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL). Soon to receive the FAA's Master Pilot award, he also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Cleveland FSDO area.

Carla Corrine Dedera, Master CFI, Bonners Ferry. Idaho
E-mail:   CDedera@lycos.com
Carla C Dedera, a 4-time Master, recently renewed her Master CFI accreditation. Carla is a flight and ground instructor with Northern Air ( NorthernAir.biz/Home ) at Idaho's Boundary County Airport (65S). She also serves as the company's Part 135 charter pilot and instructor as well as a Forest Service air tactical and fire detection pilot.

Edgar Melville "Ed" Fink, Master CFI. Fort Myers, Florida
E-mail:    EdMFink@comcast.net
Edgar M Fink, a 7-time Master and a SAFE member, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Ed is an independent flight and ground instructor at Page Field Airport (FMY). He also serves with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Sundowners Search & Rescue Flying Club, and is a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Tampa FSDO.

Lara Zook Gaerte, Master CFI. Fort Wayne, Indiana
E-mail:  CenturyAviation@gmail.com, Copper35@verizon.net
Lara Gaerte, a 2-time Master and a SAFE member, recently renewed her Master CFI accreditation. Lara is the FBO manager and director of Century Aviation's flight school at DeKalb County Airport (GWB). A specialist in technically advanced aircraft and tailwheel training, she also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's South Bend FSDO area.

Peter Frederick King, Master CFI. Bend, Oregon
E-mail:   PFKing@webmail.us
Peter F King recently earned his Master CFI accreditation. Peter is the chief instructor for the Cessna Advanced Aircraft Recurrent Training Program (CAART) and is an independent instructor specializing in instrument, technically advanced, and glass cockpit training at Bend Airport (BDN). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Portland FSDO area.

Matthew Pope Robbins "Matt" McDaniel, Master CFI. Oak Creek, Wisconsin
E-mail:   Matt@ProgAviation.com 
Matthew P R McDaniel, a 4-time Master, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Matt is the chief flight instructor and owner of Progressive Aviation Services ( www.ProgAviation.com ) based at Milwaukee International Airport (MKE). He specializes in high-performance, recurrent, and transition training nationwide primarily in customer-owned Cirrus and other TAA aircraft.

Edward William "Bill" Otway, Master Instructor Emeritus. San Antonio, Texas
E-mail:   BillOtway@hotmail.com
William Otway, a 7-time Master CFI, was recently granted Master Instructor Emeritus status in recognition of his many years of commitment to excellence, professional growth, service to the aviation community, and quality aviation education. Bill retired as the chief CFI with Wright Flyers Aviation ( www.WrightFlyers.com ), a Part 141 Cessna Pilot Center at San Antonio International Airport (SAT).

Andrew Todd "Drew" Smith, Master Aviation Educator. Lindsborg, Kansas
E-mail:  ATSmith@KSU.edu
Andrew T Smith recently earned his Master Aviation Educator (MAE) accreditation. Drew is an assistant professor and program lead for K-State University's Part 147 Aviation Maintenance Training curriculum ( www.Salina.K-State.edu/Aviation ) at Salina Municipal Airport (SAL). He also serves as a designated mechanic examiner for the FAA's Wichita FSDO.

FMI: www.MasterInstructors.org