Both Master Certified Flight Instructor And Master Ground Instructor Good For Two More Years

Michael Gaffney, director of FIT Aviation LLC, Florida Institute of Technology's aviation training arm, recently renewed two key aeronautics-related accreditations. His credentials as a Master Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) and a Master Ground Instructor (MGI) were renewed by the Master Instructors LLC, the international accrediting authority for the Master Instructor designation as well as the FAA-approved Master Instructor Program.

 
Michael Gaffney

He first earned the Master CFI, a national professional accreditation, in 2005 and has held it continuously since then. He is one of only 53 people worldwide to earn the credential four times.

Gaffney, a resident of West Melbourne, FL, won recognition as the 2007 National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year. He also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the Orlando/ North Florida FSDO area. The FAASTeam is a volunteer arm of the FAA that promotes flight safety within the region and around the country with the strong support of professional flight instructors and educators.

He volunteers for the FAA Production Studio in Lakeland, FL. This organization is responsible for all of the safety programs and videos produced and streamed over the World Wide Web by the FAA for airmen throughout the continental United States.

There are approximately 93,000 CFIs in the United States, and fewer than 700 of them have achieved the "Master" distinction thus far. While the last 15 National Flight Instructors of the Year were Master CFIs, Gaffney is one of only 65 Florida aviation educators to earn this prestigious title. Additionally, he is one of only 27 aviation educators worldwide to hold the two accreditations, Master CFI and Master Ground Instructor, concurrently.

According to former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, who awarded Gaffney his National Flight Instructor of the Year title in 2007, "The Master Instructor accreditation singles out the best that the right seat has to offer."  

FMI: www.FITaviation.com