List Includes A 'Savvy Aviator,' And Noted Trainer
In each of the past 45 years, the General Aviation Awards
program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have
partnered to recognize a small group of aviation professionals in
the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance, avionics
and safety for their contributions to aviation safety and
education.
This awards program is a cooperative effort between the FAA and
more a dozen industry sponsors. The selection process begins with
local FAA Safety Team managers at Flight Standards District Offices
(FSDO) and then moves on to the eight regional FAA offices. Panels
of aviation professionals from within those four fields then select
national winners from the pool of regional winners.
"These awards highlight the FAA-industry partnership as well as
the important role played by these individuals in promoting
aviation, education, and flight safety," said JoAnn Hill, General
Aviation Awards Committee chairperson. "The awards program sponsors
are pleased that these outstanding aviation professionals will
receive the recognition they so richly deserve before their peers
in Oshkosh."
This year's national award winners are:
2008 Nat'l Aviation Maintenance
Technician of the Year
Michael Daniel "Mike" Busch, A&P/IA
Arroyo Grande, CA
E-mail: mike.busch@savvyaviator.com
Mike is the founder and president of Savvy Aviator (www.savvyaviator.com),
a company that provides maintenance training for aircraft owners.
The holder of airframe & powerplant as well as flight
instructor certificates, Mike is also a writer and instructor for
the Cessna Pilots Association. He represented the San Jose FSDO
area (Jack Hocker, FPM) as well as the FAA's Western Pacific
Region.
2008 Nat'l Avionics Technician of the Year
Timothy Daniel "Tim" Adkison
Benton, KY
E-mail: tadkison@midwestaviation.net
Tim is the manager of avionics with Midwest Aviation
Services (www.midwest-aviation.com)
at Barkley Regional Airport (PAH) in Paducah, KY. With almost 20
years of experience in the field, he is responsible for training
technicians as well as the repair, installation, calibration,
overhaul and inspection of avionics, instruments and accessories.
Tim represented the Louisville FSDO area (John Toy, FPM) as well as
the FAA's Central Region.
2008 Nat'l Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year
Max Trescott, MCFI/MGI
Mountain View, CA
E-mail: info@sjflight.com
Max is an independent Palo Alto-area flight and ground instructor
specializing in instrument and technically advanced aircraft
training (www.sjflight.com). A
Master CFI, Master Ground Instructor, and FAASTeam representative,
Max is also a noted aviation author and speaker and founder of
Glass Cockpit Publishing. He represented the San Jose FSDO area
(Jack Hocker, FPM) as well as the FAA's Western Pacific Region.
2008 Nat'l FAASTeam Representative of the Year
John Anthony Teipen, MCFI/MGI
University City, MO
E-mail: john@teipen.com
John has been active in the FAA's safety programs as a
FAASTeam representative / Aviation Safety Counselor for more than
10 years. The chief flight instructor and president of Aeronautical
Proficiency Training (www.teipen.com/apt),
John holds Master CFI as well as Master Ground Instructor
accreditation and was the 2005 National CFI of the Year. He
represented the Saint Louis FSDO area (Fred Harms, FPM) and the
FAA's Central Region.