"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 90,000 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 March are:

RENEWALS

Charles Barckey "Chip" Vwesaw, Master CFI     
Kenai, AK
E-mail: CVersaw@AKFly.net
Charles Versaw recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation.  Chip is the chief flight instructor and owner of Alaska Flying Network (www.AlaskaFlyingNetwork.com), a Cessna Pilot Center located at Kenai Municipal Airport (PAEN). He specializes in primary and instrument flight and ground training.

Hobart Caleb "Hobie" Tomlinson, Master CFI     
Huntington, VT
E-mail: HobieTW@att.net
Hobie Tomlinson recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Hobie is an independent flight instructor as well as a charter pilot and director of safety for Heritage Flight at Burlington International Airport (BTV). He also serves as an FAASTeam representative and pilot examiner for the FAA's Portland FSDO.

Nicholas Gregory "Greg" Soter, Master CFI  
Orem, UT
E-mail: Greg@Soter.net
Gregory Soter recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Greg is a flight and ground instructor specializing in instrument and CFI training with Utah Valley State College's Aviation Science Department, a Part 141 flight school at Provo Municipal Airport (PVU). He also serves as a FAASTeam representative for the Salt Lake City FSDO.

Ernest Paul "Rusty" Sachs, Master CFI 
Norwich, VT & Oshkosh, WI
E-mail: RSachs@eaa.org
Rusty Sachs recently earned his Master CFI accreditation for the 7th time. Rusty is NAFI's executive director and serves as a pilot examiner as well as a FAASTeam representative for FSDOs in Portland, Maine, and Milwaukee. He was one of the first aviation educators to earn this accreditation and has held it continuously since 1997.

Richard Wayne "Dick" Rochfort, Master CFI  
Baltimore, MD
E-mail: Mail@RWRPilotTraining.com
Richard Rochfort recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Dick is an independent flight instructor (www.RWRPilotTraining.com) specializing in Malibu, Mirage and Meridian checkouts for the Malibu Mirage Owners & Pilots Association. He also serves as a FAASTeam rep (safety counselor) for the FAA's Baltimore FSDO.

Timothy Douglas "Tim" Perez, Master CFI   
Griffin, GA
E-mail: TimPerezATP@yahoo.com
Timothy Perez recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Tim is an independent CFI specializing in flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks at Tara Field (4A7) in Hampton, Georgia. He is also a pilot for Metro Engineering and the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation while also serving as a FAASTeam rep for the FAA's Atlanta FSDO.

Charles Ray "Chuck" McGill, Master CFI  
San Diego, CA
E-mail: ChuckMcGill@sbcglobal.net
Charles McGill recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Chuck owns and operates Safe Flight International (www.SafeFlightIntl.com) at Montgomery Field Airport (MYF). He specializes in instrument, recurrent and mountain flying training in technically advanced Mooneys and Cessna Centurions.

Arthur Herman "Art" Hayssen, Master CFI  
Santa Rosa, CA
E-mail: Burnside@comcast.net
Arthur Hayssen recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Art owns North Coast Air (www.NorthCoastAir.com) at Sonoma County Airport (STS) and is director of aviation technology at Santa Rosa Junior College. He also serves as an airport commissioner as well as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Oakland FSDO.

George Cameron Finlay, Master CFI  
South Orange, NJ
E-mail: George@principiainc.com
George Finlay recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. George is an independent CFI providing technically advanced aircraft and instrument training at several northeastern New Jersey airports. He also served on the board of directors of New Jersey's Morristown Aviation Association.

Linda Margaret Dowdy, Master CFI  
Bethel, MN
E-mail: LinDowdy@visi.com
Linda Dowdy recently renewed her Master CFI accreditation. Linda owns and operates Sim Flite Minnesota (www.SimFliteMinnesota.com), a simulator facility at Anoka County Airport (ANE) specializing in instrument and GPS training. She is also active in the Minnesota 99s and is a Wings of Mercy pilot.

Alberto Bernabeo, Master CFI  
Bologna, Italy
E-mail: Alberto.Bernabeo@gmail.com
Alberto Bernabeo recently renewed his Master Instructor accreditation. Alberto is a flight and ground instructor for Flight Safety International where he specializes in instrument, flight instructor and airline transition training. He holds both USA and Italian ATP certificates and serves as a type rating examiner.

Richard Kurt Barnhart, Master CFI  
Farmersburg, IN
E-mail: R-Barnhart@IndState.edu
Kurt Barnhart recently renewed his Master CFI accreditation. Kurt is an associate professor of aviation at Indiana State University's Department of Aerospace Technology in Terre Haute. He specializes in simulator and instrument ground training while also serving as an advisor to the university's flight team.

INITIALS

Wanda Jean Zuege, Master CFI  
Custer, WI
E-mail: WZuegeATP@sprintpcs.com
Wanda Zuege recently earned her Master CFI accreditation. Wanda is an independent flight and ground instructor specializing in primary and instrument training at Stevens Point Municipal Airport (STE). She also owns Am I High Aviation (www.AmIHighAviation.com), a company that provides aircraft rental and weekend ground schools.

Matthew David "Matt" Meyer, Master CFI  
Cincinnati, OH
E-mail: MDMeyer14@yahoo.com
Matthew Meyer recently earned his Master CFI accreditation. Matt is a Sporty's Academy flight instructor at Clermont County Airport (I69) as well as a first officer with PSA. He specializes in advanced, flight instructor and glider training and is a coach with the local National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) team.

Jeffery Brian "Jeff" Melau, Master CFI & Master GI  
Rhinelander, WI
E-mail: JMelau@NorthernSkiesLLC.com 
Jeffery Melau recently earned his Master CFI and Master Ground Instructor accreditations. Jeff is the chief flight instructor at Northern Skies Unlimited (www.NorthernSkiesLLC.com), a flight school located at Tomahawk Regional Airport (TKV). He specializes in primary and instrument flight and ground instruction.

Robert Henry "Bob" Lussow, Master CFI   
Tomahawk, WI
E-mail: RLussow@NorthernSkiesLLC.com
Robert Lussow recently earned his Master CFI accreditation. Bob is the president of Northern Skies Unlimited (www.NorthernSkiesLLC.com), a flight school located at Tomahawk Regional Airport (TKV). He also serves as an Angel Flight pilot and is a FAASTeam representative for the Milwaukee FSDO.

Adrian Allen Eichhorn, Master Ground Instructor  
Alexandria, VA
E-mail: Adrian.Eichhorn@JetBlue.com
Adrian Eichhorn recently earned his Master Ground Instructor accreditation. Adrian is an independent instructor with the Beechcraft Pilot Profficiency Program (BPPP) and provides training at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO). He is also a first officer with JetBlue and serves as an FAASTeam representative with the Washington FSDO.

Clifford Floyd "Cliff" Chetwin, Master CFI  
Littleton, CO
E-mail: Kestrel.Ent@prodigy.net
Clifford Chetwin recently earned his Master CFI accreditation. Cliff is an independent Denver area flight instructor specializing in mountain flying at Centennial Airport (APA). He also serves as a FAASTeam rep for the FAA's Denver FSDO and recently retired as the National Park Service's Intermountain Region aviation manager.

FMI: www.nafimasters.org