The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) takes pride in announcing a significant aviation accomplishment on the part of these very special aviation educators. Recently, they were all designated Master Instructors by NAFI, their professional aviation organization.

To help put this achievement in its proper perspective, there are approximately 85,000 CFIs in the United States. Fewer than 500 of them have earned the Master designation thus far. As a measure of the prestige conferred by this title, the last ten FAA National Flight Instructors of the Year were Master CFIs. In addition, the FAA has approved the designation as an alternate means for CFIs to renew their flight instructor certificates.

The Master Instructor designation is a national accreditation recognized by the FAA that is earned by a candidate through a rigorous process of continuing education 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, Master Instructors have earned their "black belts" in aviation education. They truly represent the cr�me de la cr�me of the aviation industry!

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

Renewals

• Ernest Paul "Rusty" SACHS, Master CFI
  Oshkosh WI / Norwich VT
  E-mail: RSachs@eaa.org
  Rusty Sachs recently earned his Master CFI designation for the 5th time. Rusty is the executive director and airman certification representative for the National Association of Flight Instructors in Oshkosh, WI. He has also served as a pilot examiner (DPE) and safety counselor (ASC) for the FAA's Portland FSDO.
• Phillip Jeffrey "Phil" POYNOR, Master CFI
  Nashua NH
  E-mail: MasterCFI2@aol.com
  Phillip Poynor recently earned his Master CFI designation for the 5th time. Phil is the aviation division chair at Nashua's Daniel Webster College (ASH) and serves on the Board of the National Association of Flight Instructors. The 2001 National CFI of the Year, he is also a safety counselor for the FAA's Portland FSDO.
• Harold Frederick "Harry" LEICHER, Master CFI
  Whittier CA
  E-mail: ItllClear@aol.com
  Harold Leicher recently renewed his Master CFI designation. Harry is an independent flight and ground instructor at the Long Beach Airport (LGB) specializing primary, instrument and multiengine training. He also serves as chief pilot for Fresh Air Cargo and is a safety counselor for the FAA's Long Beach FSDO.
• Gordon Ashby EWALD, Master CFI
  Hardy VA
  E-mail: GAEwald@earthlink.net
  Gordon Ewald recently renewed his Master CFI designation. Gordon is an independent flight instructor at Roanoke Regional Airport (ROA). He also instructs in the USAF Initial Flight Training Program, teaches ground school classes for the Roanoke City school system and is the senior instructor at LC's Flying Service.
• Andrew Victor "Andy" DALE, Master CFI
  Winston-Salem NC
  E-mail: AVDale@mindspring.com
  Andrew Dale recently renewed his Master CFI designation. Andy is the chief flight instructor for Heart of Virginia Aviation at Martinsville's Blue Ridge Airport (MTV). He is also a member of AOPA's Airport Support Network (ASN) and serves as an Aviation Safety Counselor for the FAA's Greensboro FSDO.

Initials

• Darren SMITH, Master CFI
  Tampa FL
  E-mail: CFIDarren@yahoo.com
  Darren Smith recently earned his Master CFI designation. Darren is a Tampa-area flight and ground instructor specializing in primary and instrument flight training as well as ground training. He also holds a Master Ground Instructor (MGI) designation and serves as an Aviation Safety Counselor for the Tampa FSDO.
• Paul GRETSCHEL, Master CFI
  Coram NY
  E-mail: PaulCFI@aol.com
  Paul Gretschel recently earned his Master CFI designation. Paul is an independent flight instructor working primarily at Islip's MacArthur Airport (ISP) and Farmingdale's Republic Airport (FRG). He also provides recurrent training and flight reviews through the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program (BPPP).
• Adrian Young COLLIER, Master CFI
  Mercer Island WA
  E-mail: Adrian_Collier@CFItalk.com
  Adrian Collier recently earned his Master Instructor designation. Adrian is a flight and ground instructor at Galvin Flying Service, a Part 141 flight school at Seattle's Boeing Field (BFI). He is also the founder, publisher and webmaster of www.CFItalk.com, a resource for aviation related news.

FMI: www.nafinet.org