'The Best Of The Best'

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 accredited as Master Instructors by NAFI, their professional aviation education association.

To help put this achievement in its proper perspective, there are approximately 91,000 CFIs in the United States. Fewer than 600 of them have earned Master accreditation thus far. As a measure of the prestige conferred by this title, the last twelve 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 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.

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

RENEWALS

Eric Joseph Shappee, Master CFI      
Salina, KS
E-mail: wjfpmd@ksu.edu
Eric J Shappee recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Eric is a Kansas State University flight and ground instructor as well as an associate professor of aviation at Salina Airport (SLN). He also serves with the Kansas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and is a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Wichita FSDO.

Randal Rock "Randy" Rowles, Master CFI  
Fort Worth, TX
E-mail: Randy-Rowles@SSHeli.com
Randal R Rowles recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Randy is a flight instructor and vice president of training operations with Silver State Helicopters (www.ssheli.com) at Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW). He also serves as a pilot examiner and FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Fort Worth FSDO.

Timm Preusser, Master CFI  
Kleinwallstadt Germany
E-mail: TimmPreusser@t-online.de
Timm Preusser recently earned his Master CFI accreditation for the 5th time. Timm is a board member, chief CFI, and training officer at the Darmstadt Flying Club (www.flydfc.com). He also serves on the Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association (COPA) board of directors and is a Cirrus standardized instructor.

Craig Michael Patterson, Master CFI   
Midland, TX
E-mail: CPatterson@Midland.edu
Craig M Patterson recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Craig is an assistant professor and chief flight instructor with Midland College's Part 141 professional pilot preparation program at Midland Airpark (MDD). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative with the FAA's Lubbock FSDO and is the FSDO's 2007 CFI of the Year.

David Allen Koehn, Master CFI   
Tulsa, OK
E-mail: David@FastForwardAviation.com
David A Koehn recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. David is a flight instructor and co-owner of Fast Forward Aviation (www.fastforwardaviation.com) at Tulsa's Richard L Jones Riverside Airport (RVS). He specializes in primary through advanced flight training as well as accelerated private through ATP ground training.

Gregory "Greg" Keshishian, Master CFI  
New York, NY
E-mail: GregKesh@att.net
Gregory Keshishian recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Greg is an instructor with the Beechcraft Pilot Proficience Program (BPPP) and is a director of the American Bonanza Society (ABS). He also serves as an EAA flight advisor and a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Farmingdale FSDO.

Cleon Joseph Biter, Master CFI   
Lyons, CO
E-mail: CJBiter@earthlink.net
Cleon J Biter recently earned his Master CFI accreditation for the 5th time. Cleon is a flight instructor in Boulder (www.specialtyflight.com) and Longmont (www.airwestinc.net) as well as a nationally known aviation weather consultant, researcher, and writer. He also serves as a FAASTeam rep for the FAA's Denver FSDO.

INITIALS

Steven Michael "Steve" Smith, Master CFI   
Saint Charles IL
E-mail: StevenMSmith@mindspring.com
Steven M Smith recently earned his Master CFI accreditation. Steve is a DuPage area flight instructor specializing in high performance and technically advanced aircraft training. A veteran of the US Air Force, he also instructs with Travel Express Aviation (www.flytea.com) at the DuPage County Airport (DPA).

FMI: www.nafimasters.org