The Envelope, Please...
In each of the past 42 years, the
General Aviation Awards Program and the FAA have recognized 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
a dozen industry sponsors. The selection process begins at
local Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) and then moves on to
the nine regional FAA offices. Panels of aviation professionals
within the various fields then select national winners from the
pool of regional awardees.
Recipients of this year's national awards are:
- John Anthony Teipen of University City, MO, Certificated Flight
Instructor (CFI) of the Year
- Michael Cheever Church of Costa Mesa, CA, Aviation Safety
Counselor (ASC) of the Year
- Michael O'Brian "Mike" Branham of Bella Vista, AR, Aviation
Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year
- Charles Allen Hanner of Lincoln, NE, Avionics Technician of the
Year
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will present the national awards
during a "Theater in the Woods" program at EAA AirVenture 2005 in
Oshkosh, WI.
"These awards highlight the important role played by these
individuals in promoting aviation safety and education," said JoAnn
Hill, General Aviation Awards Committee chairman. "The awards
program sponsors are pleased that these outstanding aviation
professionals will receive the recognition they so richly deserve
before their peers in Oshkosh."
2005 CFI Of The Year
Master CFI John Teipen (below) exemplifies the standard of
professionalism in the field of flight instruction. He is involved
in all levels of aviation education from soaring and seaplanes to
academics and CFI continuing education.
Earning a pilot certificate in 1984, he became a certificated
flight instructor in 1996. He teaches in the aviation program at St
Louis Community College and is an independent flight instructor in
the St Louis area specializing in tailwheel endorsements and
upset/spin training in his recently rebuilt 1969 Bellanca 7ECA
Citabria. He also serves as an aviation safety counselor as well as
a designated pilot examiner in airplanes and gliders.
The Greater St Louis Flight Instructors Association, St Louis
Soaring Association, the local Aeronca Champ Club and EAA's Young
Eagles Program all benefit from his many hours of pro bono service.
Starting out as a flight instructor revalidation clinic (FIRC)
lecturer for the Greater St Louis Flight Instructors Association,
he now serves as the association's FIRC director. He is also a
founding member of the St Louis pilot examiners group.
Teipen believes in continuing education for all pilots and
includes himself in that regimen. During the past five years, he
has added airplane multiengine land (MEL), airplane single engine
sea (SES) and multiengine instructor (MEI) ratings. A regular
attendee at safety seminars, he has also achieved level eight in
the FAA's Pilot Proficiency Awards "WINGS"
program.
He is one of approximately 450 aviation educators worldwide who
holds a Master Instructor designation. This professional
accreditation is granted by the National Association of Flight
Instructors (NAFI) to outstanding aviation educators who are
demonstrating an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional
growth, and service to the aviation community. He is a longtime
member of NAFI as well as AOPA, EAA and
IAC.
Teipen represented the St Louis FSDO and the
FAA's Central Region.
This year's other regional CFI winners include:
- Master CFI Judy Cadmus of Collegeville, PA(FAA Eastern
Region)
- Master CFI Lonnie Hilkemeier of Boulder, CO(FAA Northwest
Mountain Region)
- Master CFI Gene Hudson of Sylmar, CA (FAA Western Region)
- Master CFI Dan Keen of Lafayette, IN (FAA Great Lakes
Region)
- John Moyers of Burlington, NC (FAA Southern Region)
- Paul Pitts of Keller, TX (FAA Southwest Region)
- Ann Walko of Wisasset, ME (FAA New England Region)
2005 ASC Of The Year
Master CFI Michael Church has been a flight instructor for 35
years and has served as an Aviation Safety Counselor (ASC) for more
than 16 of those years. He is the chief flight instructor and
president of Sunrise Aviation, a Part 141 flight school and Cessna
Pilot Center at Santa Ana's John Wayne-Orange County Airport
(SNA).
As president and a longtime board member of the Western Pacific
Aviation Safety Foundation, Church has worked in partnership with
the FAA's Western Pacific Regional Office to promote aviation
safety initiatives through education. He participates in the FAA's
WINGS program and provides informational as well as aviation safety
seminars. He also regularly makes presentations to the non-flying
public about airports, flight training and aerobatic flight. The
FAA frequently calls upon him to provide remedial training to
pilots as a substitute for certificate enforcement action.
In addition to his duties as chief CFI of Sunrise Aviation,
Church (above) is also a Cirrus authorized flight instructor as
well as a prolific author. He writes aerobatic manuals, flight
course syllabi and DVD ground school courses. A contributing editor
for both Private Pilot and Pacific Flyer, he provides monthly
columns for those publications entitled "IFR Refresher" and "Back
to Basics," respectively.
Church is active in the International Aerobatics Club (IAC) on
the local and national levels. He is the secretary and director of
communications for IAC's Chapter 36. His duties include editing the
chapter's newsletter and functioning as webmaster for their web
site. He has served as a judge at aerobatic competitions for 12
years, coached chapter members, operated training camps, been a
competitor himself and is now an aerobatic contest director.
Continuing to upgrade his own aviation skills, he has taken
advanced training to become a Cirrus standardized instructor and a
facilitator for interactive computer avionics training with
Electronic Flight Solutions. He continues to take advanced
aerobatic training from nationally renowned instructors. Holder of
both Master CFI and Master CFI-Aerobatic designations, he is a
member of AOPA, EAA, IAC and NAFI.
Church represented the Long Beach FSDO and
the FAA's Western Pacific Region. This year's other regional ASC
winners include Joseph R Brigham of Bow, New Hampshire (FAA's New
England Region)
- Dennis R Gardisser of Lonoke, AR (FAA's Southwest Region)
- Brian L Robbins of Columbus, NJ (FAA's Eastern Region)
- John R Scott of Denver, CO (FAA's Northwest Mountain
Region)
- John Paul St Peter of Detroit, MI (FAA's Great Lakes
Region)
- James Edward Trusty of Old Hickory, TN (FAA's Southern
Region)
2005 AMT Of The Year
Mike Branham (below) began his aviation maintenance career in
1981 as a crew chief on a US Air Force KC135A Stratotanker. After
serving four years in the Air Force, he enlisted in the US Coast
Guard where he worked as a flight mechanic on the HH-65A Dolphin
helicopter and a dropmaster on the HU25A Falcon Jet.
During his time in the Coast Guard, he specialized in aircraft
composite structural repair. He also participated in search and
rescue missions, fishery patrols, and drug enforcement missions. In
recognition of his performance on these missions, he was awarded a
Coast Guard Commendation Medal.
He received his airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic
certification in 1990. After leaving the Coast Guard, he worked as
lead mechanic for Raytheon Aircraft Systems performing depot level
inspections on Navy T-34/44s. He also served as a crew chief for
Ozark Aircraft Systems at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport
(XNA). In that capacity, he supervised the inspections and line
maintenance for American Eagle Emory Air 145/135s.
In 1999, he began his career with Wal-Mart Stores as an aircraft
technician maintaining their corporate fleet. In January of 2000,
he was granted inspection authorization by the FAA and joined
Wal-Mart Aviation's quality assurance team. He was also named
manager of their nondestructive testing program. In 2004, he was
promoted to Wal-Mart's maintenance manager. In that position, he
helps maintain a fleet of more than 20 corporate aircraft including
Lear 31s, 35s, 45s, Global Express and a Challenger. Last year, the
aircraft of Wal-Mart Aviation flew over 16,000 hours throughout the
world.
When not overseeing the maintenance of Wal-Mart's aircraft
fleet, he enjoys restoring his 1969 Camaro and spending time with
his family on Tablerock Lake in the Ozark Mountains of northern
Arkansas.
Branham represented the Little Rock FSDO as
well as the FAA's Southwest Region. This year's other regional AMT
winners include:
- John Joseph Connolly of Centerville, ME (FAA New England
Region)
- William David Cruey of Batavia, OH (FAA Great Lakes
Region)
- Fred Everett Hetrick of Berryton, KS (FAA Central Region)
- Roy Merritt Hines of Raleigh, NC (FAA Southern Region)
- John Charles Perry of Rangely, CO (FAA Northwest Mountain
Region)
- Bobby Gene Speaker of Sun City, AZ (FAA Western Pacific
Region)
2005 Avionics Tech Of The Year
Charles Hanner's first exposure to the world of aviation came
through stories told to him by his grandfather, a World War II Navy
veteran who maintained Vought F4U Corsairs and North American P-51
Mustangs. These stories planted the seeds that later germinated
into a career as a professional avionics technician.
His interest in electronics developed through his participation
in a basic high school electronics course. After graduation, he
decided to pursue that interest further and enrolled at Western
Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City, Iowa. While there, he
majored in telecommunications and graduated in 1990 with a degree
in telecommunications technology.
Armed with this training, Hanner (above) applied for a position
in 1990 as an avionics technician at the headquarters facility of
Duncan Aviation at Lincoln Airport (LNK) in Lincoln, Nebraska. A
member of the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), Duncan is an
FAA repair station as well as a full service FBO. With more than
1800 employees, they have service centers in Lincoln as well Battle
Creek, Michigan. Initially, Hanner performed component level
repairs on autopilots and flight director systems while also doing
some line maintenance. His introduction to general aviation
aircraft test flights was on a Lear 25D and what an introduction
that was!
In January of 1998, he was promoted to avionics line team leader
and continues in that position today. In that capacity, he
schedules aircraft maintenance, coordinates work on aircraft,
mentors other technicians, works directly with customers and
supervises the daily operations of Duncan's avionics line
maintenance team. He also finds time to continue his professional
education by taking systems training, management and team-focused
courses. In addition to an FAA repairman certificate, he also holds
an FCC general radiotelephone license with a ship radar
endorsement.
Hanner represented the Lincoln FSDO and the
FAA's Central Region. This year's other regional avionics
technician winners were:
- Kirt Thomas Sanderbeck of Sherman, IL (FAA's Great Lakes
Region)
- Andrew James Scanlon of Ellsworth, ME (FAA's New England
Region)
- Edward Ernest Stertmann of Pine Bluff, AR (FAA's Southwest
Region)
- Thomas Patrick Supon of Rincon, GA (FAA's Southern Region)
- Harold Webster Wells of Peoria, AZ (FAA's Western Pacific
Region)
The General Aviation Awards program executive committee includes
the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the National Association of Flight
Instructors (NAFI) and the Professional Aviation Maintenance
Association (PAMA). Additional support and sponsorship are provided
by Women in Aviation International (WAI), the National Business
Aviation Association (NBAA), the National Association of State
Aviation Officials (NASAO), the National Air Transportation
Association (NATA), the Helicopter Association International (HAI),
the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Aeronautical Repair Station
Association (ARSA).