R9 Sales Director Trip Taylor Will Lead "League Of Extraordinary Pilots"

Avidyne announced Wednesday that Trip Taylor will be its Director of Integrated Flight Deck Sales, who's primary responsibility will be managing Avidyne's Release 9 Flight Deck business unit. But Taylor will also oversee Avidyne's newly formed National Flight Instructor Standards Team ... a.k.a. The League of Extraordinary Pilots.

Taylor, who has flown for Avidyne as a Release 9 demonstration pilot since April 2009, joined the Avidyne sales team full time in September. He is a former Cirrus Air Taxi Pilot and FAA designated Check Airman in Cirrus SR22 aircraft.

Assembled and led by Taylor, the Avidyne National Flight Instructor Standards Team is a highly-accomplished group of pilots from around the country that have been approved to conduct demonstration flights and provide transition and recurrent training for prospects and customers of Avidyne's Entegra Release 9 aircraft. Each team member was selected for his or her broad experience within the Cirrus instructor community and overall commitment to flight safety. All members are Cirrus Standardized Instructor Program (CSIP) pilots and average nearly 1800 hours of Cirrus flight time. 

"We are delighted to have Trip Taylor on board to take our widely adopted Release 9 Flight Deck to a broader range of IFR and safety conscience pilots.  Additionally, his leadership in building and standardizing  this 'League of Extraordinary Pilots,' whose mission is to develop and conduct flight training for and demonstrations of Avidyne's advanced flight deck systems, is nicely aligned with Avidyne's long term devotion to flight safety and best practices," said Rob Higby, Avidyne's Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service. "The caliber of pilots Trip has assembled is further testament to how well received Avidyne's Release 9 flight deck as become, particularly among general aviation's most respected leaders.

Each member of the Avidyne National Flight Instructor Standards Team brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the program. The members are:

• Tom Close:  Retired United Captain on the B747, Cirrus R9 owner.  From Del Mar, California.
• Matt McDaniel, a member of the original Cirrus Factory instructor ranks, airline pilot and renowned WAAS expert. Recently renewed Master Instructor status for 4th time.  Only 53 instructors in the world have attained that status 4 times.  Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Cliff Izer, a professional pilot on a variety of Turbine aircraft, former Marine pilot and highly respected Cirrus Instructor from Atlanta, Georgia.
• Bill Frank, longtime Cirrus instructor, Orthopedic Surgeon and Multiple Cirrus owner, current R9 owner. Minnesota
• Matt Swart, longtime Cirrus Instructor, Longtime COPA member from St. Augustine, Florida.
• Carol Jensen. multiple Cirrus owner and director of the COPA Critical Decision Making Course.  from Georgetown, Texas.
• Peter King, training expert and author of multiple training programs for Cirrus and Columbia owner groups.

In addition to naming Trip Taylor and the members of the National Flight Instructor Standards Team, Avidyne has also added Reid Antonacchio as Inside Sales Manager to the Release 9 Sales Team.  Like Trip, Reid also has an established Release 9 background, most recently with Eagle Creek Aviation, where he led the group's Release 9 retrofit business.

FMI: www.avidyne.com