FAA Recognizes Accreditation For Flight Instructor Renewal

Master Instructors LLC and its Board of Review have released the list of flight instructors who were accredited as Masters by Master Instructors LLC in November.

Of the approximately 93,000 CFIs in the United States, fewer than 700 have earned this master accreditation. The last 15 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.

Aviation educators who earned the "Master" title during November are:

• Matthew Emerson "Matt" Blythe of Orange Park  FL is a 1st-time Master and SAFE member. Matt is the Part 141 chief flight instructor and evaluation check pilot with ATP Flight Academy at Jacksonville's Craig Municipal Airport (KCRG). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Orlando / North Florida FSDO area. E-mail: M.E.Blythe@gmail.com

  

• James Brian "Jim" Casper, Master CFI of Vallejo, CA, is 3-time Master and SAFE member. Jim is an independent Vallejo-area flight and ground instructor specializing in instrument and technically advanced aircraft training at Concord's Buchanan Field Airport (CCR). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Oakland FSDO area. E-mail: Ghost_94590@yahoo.com
• Mark Joseph Dusenbury, Master CFI of Grand Forks, ND, is a 2-time Master. Mark is an instructor, aviation lecturer, and academic coordinator at the University of North Dakota's John D Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Fargo FSDO area. E-mail: Dusenbur@Aero.UND.edu
• Lonnie Lee Hilkemeier, Master CFI from Boulder, CO, is a 7-time Master and SAFE member, recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Colorado's first Master Instructor, Lonnie is the senior flight instructor and president of Specialty Flight Training, a Cessna Pilot Center at Boulder Airport (BDU). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Denver FSDO area. E-mail: Lonnie@SpecialtyFlight.com

  

• Ivan Hamazasp Manoogian, Master CFI of Phoenix, AZ, is a 1st-time Master and SAFE member. Ivan is an independent glider flight and ground instructor at Peoria's Pleasant Valley Airport (P48). He also serves in the Arizona Wing of Civil Air Patrol as a glider flight instructor and safety officer. E-mail: Sdaghgasdor@yahoo.com
• John Clarke "Otter" McNeace, Master CFI-Aerobatic from Phoenix, AZ, is a 2-time Master and IAC member. Clarke is the director of training & standards with Aviation Performance Solutions at Gateway Airport (IWA). Specializing in upset recovery and aerobatics training, he has also served as a FAASTeam representative in the Scottsdale FSDO area. E-mail: Clarke.McNeace@APSTraining.com
• Brian Lee Robbins, Master CFI & Master GI of Columbus, NJ, is a 3-time Master and SAFE member. Brian is an independent flight instructor as well as an instructor in Mercer County Community College's Part 141 flight program at Trenton Mercer Airport (TTN). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Philadelphia FSDO area. E-mail: Aeromentor@comcast.net
• Shane Larrel Vande Voort, Master CFI of Pella, IA, is a 3-time Master and SAFE member. Shane is the chief flight instructor as well as president of Classic Aviation at Pella Municipal Airport (PEA). He also serves as a pilot examiner and a FAASTeam representative in the FAA's Des Moines FSDO area. E-mail: Shane@FlyClassicAviation.com

FMI: www.masterinstructors.org, www.SafePilots.org