The workshops on this site are delivered by top experts in the aviation industry. In addition to their impressive credentials, these professionals possess the ability to explain important and sometimes highly technical concepts clearly and concisely.

Doug Stewart
Doug Stewart was the "National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year" in 2004. A Master Certified Flight Instructor, Gold Seal Instructor and Designated Pilot Examiner - he owns and operates a flight school (DSFI) at the Columbia County Airport in Hudson, NY. Prior to starting DSFI, Doug was the chief flight instructor for Berkshire Aviation Enterprises, where he had instructed since July 1991. Both the Windsor Locks Flight Standards District Office, and the New England Regional Office of the FAA recently recognized him as the "Flight Instructor of the Year".

At the time of this writing Doug had logged over 8000 hours of dual instruction given, with over 2000 hours of that being instrument instruction. This instruction has been given in aircraft as simple as the J-3 Cub, and as complex as the Piper Malibu / Mirage.

Bob Nardiello
Bob Nardiello began his flying career in 1978. He currently holds CFI, CFII, MEI, and ATP ratings and serves as a Designated Pilot Examiner in the Connecticut and Massachusetts areas. Bob was selected as Windsor Locks Flight Standards District Office "Flight Instructor of the Year" in 2004 and "FAA Safety Counselor of the Year" in 2006. He has more than 10,000 hours of total flight experience, with more than 7,000 hours as a Flight Instructor. He is currently the Assistant Chief Flight Instructor at the Part 141 Flight School operated by Interstate Aviation in Plainville, CT.

Bob is also a seasoned charter pilot and flies a Cessna 421 and Citation Ultra for Interstate Aviation. His extensive experience operating in the system has equipped him with a wealth of practical, real-world tips for better, safer, and more efficient flying. With his background as a mechanical engineer, Bob also has a deep interest in the technical aspects of general aviation.

Bob Martens
Bob Martens' entire career has been dedicated to aviation safety and accident prevention. He recently retired from the FAA after spending 17 years as a Safety Program Manager. In this role, he devoted his time to researching and improving General Aviation safety and delivered hundreds of live seminars on a variety of safety topics. Bob's practical approach and no-nonsense delivery made his seminars among the most popular offered by the FAA.

He retired from the USAF (rank of Colonel) in 2000 after 30 years of active and reserve duty. He served in Operation Desert Storm as an Aircraft Commander in a C-5A. He also served as Flying Safety Officer and Chief of Safety with the 439th AirWing. Bob has logged thousands of flight hours in both military and GA aircraft.

Wally Moran
Wally Moran has held a flight instructor certificate for 46 years. He began his career as a general aviation flight instructor. He later became a pilot for Trans World Airlines and spent much of his career as a training instructor and check airman on many airline type aircraft including the Boeing 747 and 767. He also held positions as chief pilot and vice president of safety and engineering for TWA. Wally is a designated pilot examiner for single and multiengine aircraft and gliders.

He is authorized to issue certificates all the way up to ATP. He has given over 3400 hours of flight instruction in single engine, multiengine, tailwheel, gliders, seaplanes and instruments. He owns a high performance glider and he conducts qualification and tow instruction for glider tow pilots. Wally currently works as an aviation consultant conducting flight tests, flight training and aviation safety services.

Rod Machado
Rod Machado has been flying since 1970, instructing since 1973 and has over 8,000 hours of flight time earned the hard way--one CFI hour at a time. Since 1977 he has taught hundreds of flight instructor revalidation clinics and safety seminars and he was named the 1991 "Western Region Flight Instructor of the Year". Rod holds all fixed-wing (powered) flight instructor ratings as well as an airline transport pilot license. He also owns an A36 Bonanza.

For six years, Rod wrote and co-anchored ABC's Wide World of Flying. He is AOPA's National CFI spokesman and a National Accident Prevention Counselor appointed by the FAA in Washington D. C. Rod is the flight instructor voice on Microsoft's Flight Simulator starting with the 2000 version and he wrote the flight lesson tutorials for the textbook that accompanies the software. He is also an instructor on Cessna's Computer-Based Private Pilot CD-ROM and the author of four books, four DVDs, a 14 CD audio album, a Private Pilot Course on 30 audio CDs and a CFI image CD. You can read his monthly column in AOPA Pilot magazine as well as in Flight Training Magazine. Visit Rod's website at http://rodmachado.com/.

Scott Dennstaedt
Scott Dennstaedt is a nationally known aviation weather expert, having worked as a meteorologist long before he became a pilot and flight instructor. He has the unique qualifications of being a meteorologist and a CFII. In addition to teaching aviation weather, Scott is a flight instructor in technically advanced aircraft. He's a Cessna 350/400 Factory Instructor and co-developed the Cessna Advanced Aircraft Recurrent Training (CAART) program for the Cessna Advanced Aircraft Club. Scott is also a contributing editor at IFR Magazine and writes for Plane & Pilot, Pilot Journal, Aviation Consumer and Twin & Turbine. He has also written articles for the Aviation Weather Center's publication called The Front.

Scott owns and operates Chesapeake Aviation Training, which teaches pilots about aviation weather and how to safely use panel-mounted and portable cockpit weather systems in-flight. Visit Scott's website at http://chesavtraining.com/.

John Krug
John's 27 years experience as an Air Traffic Controller and as an active flight instructor, allow him to assist pilots in gaining a better understanding of the ATC system and how to best operate in it.

John began his flying career in 1975. He became an Air Traffic Controller in 1979 and progressed through many positions with the FAA before retiring in 2006. While with the FAA, he was an On-the-Job-Training Instructor for new controllers and worked as a Quality Assurance Specialist (responsible for conducting in-flight evaluations of the Air Traffic System and investigating accidents and incidents).

In 2002, John was named the "Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year" by the Windsor Locks FSDO. John also holds a Commercial license with CFI, CFII and Seaplane ratings. He currently provides flight instruction in the Hartford, CT area and flies for a scheduled Part 135 commuter in the Northeast and Caribbean markets.

Bob Adelizzi
Bob has been a controller at Boston TRACON for twenty five years and affiliated with the FAA safety program for over twenty. As the safety program developed into its current form, he saw a need to educate pilots about the air traffic system and make the environment more "user friendly". He developed the popular "Evening with ATC" series that were the highest attended safety programs in New England.

Over the years he has briefed countless numbers of pilots at corporate flight departments and conducted training at Bridgewater State College and Daniel Webster College. Bob was recently asked to speak at the ACONE Crash Course 2007 and the AOPA Communication Seminar which had a combined attendance of over 600 pilots. He has been recognized numerous times by the Boston FSDO for his work as a safety counselor, and was the "Eastern Region FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year" in 2006.

Susan Parson
Susan Parson holds "Master Instructor" and "Master Ground Instructor" designations from the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI). An enthusiastic pilot, Susan holds a flight instructor certificate with instrument, single engine, and multi-engine land ratings. She has worked as a flight and ground instructor for flight schools in the Leesburg, VA area.

At present, she focuses her instructional activities on her Leesburg-based flying club and the Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, for which she serves as a Check Pilot, Deputy Director of Safety, and Deputy Director for Standards & Evaluation. Susan is a member of the National Association of Flight Instructors and the Ninety-Nines (International Organization of Women Pilots).

Jim Lauerman
James A. Lauerman, Chief Underwriting Officer and Executive Vice President at Avemco Insurance Company, began his aviation career in the Navy as an acoustic sensor operator aboard a P-3 Orion. Returning to civilian life, he purchased and operated his own flight school for eight years. He obtained advanced aviation certificates and ratings, including a multi-engine rating, multi-engine and instrument instructor ratings, and an airline transport pilot certificate. In 1985, he entered the aviation insurance profession and quickly rose to the executive ranks.

With over 4000 hours of flight time--including 2500 as an instructor--and a career that spans almost every aspect of general aviation, Lauerman possesses a wealth of information on aviation, risk management, and the countless intangible aspects of flying that come with three decades of experience. His leadership at AVEMCO includes multiple initiatives that have made flying a safer, more enjoyable, and more accessible endeavor.