Do No Harm

Robert “Bob” Meder completed his initial flight training in 1995 and earned his CFI in 2006. He went on to add single-engine and multi-engine instrument certificates. Recently he retired from a 40+ year career at a major railroad as the Director of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). While in this position, he worked directly with the FAA on regulatory issues for Drones and critical infrastructure companies. During this time, he continued to instruct.

Bob has over 6,000 hours of dual instruction and enjoys training new flight instructors, challenging them to recognize the distinction between skill and
critical thinking. He emphasizes that superior risk management, not just skill, is the key to safe flight training. He is a FAASTeam Lead Rep at the St Louis FSDO and was honored as the district and regional flight instructor of the year in 2009 and 2010. After nearly ten years as chair, Bob currently serves as Chair Emeritus on the NAFI board of directors.

Learning from Others' Mistakes: Teaching with Case Studies

Professor David Moorefield is the ERAU GAETZ Aerospace Institute’s Director of Flight Operations.

He is 28-year veteran of the Air Force and Navy. He served as a maintenance technician on the C-141B and C-5A. As a Naval Aviator he flew the TH-57 Bell Jet Ranger followed by the SH-60B Sea Hawk with missions ranging from Anti-Submarine Warfare to Counter Narcotics Operations. He also flew the T-34C as a Primary Naval Flight Instructor and taught multiple ground school courses.

After retiring in 2012, Moorefield flew in Helicopter Emergency Services in the Bell 206 and the EC-135. He later flew for Mesa Airlines Flying CRJ-700/900, and went on to work for Northrop Grumman as a Project Manager for the E-2D.

Moorefield holds the ATP and CFI/I in both Rotary wing and Fixed wing aircraft. He has over 5000 flight hours and has an undergraduate degree from Embry Riddle in Professional Aeronautics and a master’s degree from The Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies.

Frozen On The Controls

Nathan Ballard is a CFI-I, IGI in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the safety officer of his flying club and a FAAST representative. Nathan has just under 1000 hours of dual given, and with this in mind, he is aware of how much learning occurs in the first several hundred hours of flight instruction. He is committed to assisting newer flight instructors by sharing lessons and experiences that aren’t part of a typical CFI curriculum.

Nathan believes that while many practices in aviation are sound, we should also be thoughtful and scrutinize practices that have been handed down over the years. The foundation of his flight instruction and content is deeply established in his philosophy of “Attacking Aviation from a Critical Angle.” You can see more on his YouTube channel, “Nathan Ballard Safer Flying.”

Pilot Mental Health

Dr. Victor Vogel is a board-certified and fellowship-trained medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer prevention and treatment. He obtained his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine, completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and his fellowship in medical oncology at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. Dr. Vogel has also served as the National Vice President for Research at the American Cancer Society.

A pilot since 1980, Dr. Vogel holds a CFII, AGI, and IGI. He has owned a Beech Sierra and for the past 15 years a Cirrus SR22. He has flown to 40 of the 50 states and serves as a FAASTeam Representative. He is a member of the IFR Magazine Editorial Board.

In retirement, Dr. Vogel plans to become a full-time flight instructor and is the founder of Susquehanna STEM to the Skies, an educational foundation that will utilize a full-motion advanced aviation training device to introduce high school youth to aviation as a career opportunity.

Preparing for a Medical Like a Checkride

Dr. Keith Roxo is a TOPGUN trained adversary pilot turned Aerospace Medicine physician. He has over 2000 hours in a variety of high-performance military aircraft including the F/A-18, F-16, and F-5 and holds multiple military flight instructor qualifications.

Keith also holds Airline Transport Pilot and CFII certificates. His medical qualifications include board certification in both Aerospace and Occupational medicine, and he is a HIMS-qualified FAA-designated Senior Aviation Medical Examiner. Keith provides aviation medical consulting with Wingman Med.

Adverse WX - Perception VS Reality

Dr. Ian Johnson is an Engineering Psychologist with the FAA Weather Research Branch of the Aviation Weather Division. He currently serves as the Human Factors Lead and General Aviation subject matter expert on the Weather Technology in the Cockpit program. Dr. Johnson has over 20 years’ experience in Human Factors Engineering/System Safety of various cockpit display systems and user interfaces.

Mr. Danny Sims is a Physical Scientist with the FAA Weather Research Branch of the Aviation Weather Division. He currently leads the Inflight Icing, and the Model Development and Enhancement weather research projects under the FAA’s Aviation Weather Research Program. He has over 30 years’ experience in aviation weather including weather product integration into the Traffic Flow Management System and test and evaluation of aviation weather products at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center working with air traffic controllers, flight services, dispatchers, pilots and aviation meteorologists.

How to Crash an Airplane

Brian Schiff is a captain for a major US airline and is type-rated on the Airbus A320, Boeing 727, 757, 767, DC-9 (MD-80), CL-65, LR-JET, and G-V. Schiff’s roots are deeply planted in general aviation where he has flown a wide variety of aircraft (95 types). His total flying time is over 20,000 hours. He is a Gold Seal flight instructor and FAA Safety Team Representative and holds several flight instructor ratings. He has been actively instructing since earning his flight and ground instructor certificates in 1985. Schiff also has been an FAA-designated examiner. He attended San Jose State University and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and his Master of Science Degree in Aviation Safety from the University of Central Missouri. He regularly teaches and conducts seminars about aviation safety and techniques to student and professional pilots alike.

Techniques for Backcountry Flight Instruction

As National Merit Scholar, Hoover focused on academics and pursued B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geology and Geochemistry, with a minor in nuclear chemistry, which gave her the opportunity to tramp around the wilderness in central Idaho banging on rocks and enjoying the wide-open spaces. When she finished graduate school, the death of jobs in her specialty field led her to yet another distraction; she became a wilderness whitewater river guide on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon Rivers deep in the Idaho backcountry.

With less than 90 hours in her logbook, Hoover decided she needed her own airplane, and along came her 1947 Cessna 120. That little airplane was bare bones, without communication or navigational aids, and it taught her how to really fly. Tailwheel endorsements were not required, so she cautiously expanded her understanding of how the airplane wanted to be treated, and in exchange it taught her about how to fly in the mountains and canyons, read the wind, respect the terrain and the heat, and safely explore the backcountry. She gained knowledge through the tutelage of many of the “old-time” back country pilots, and absorbed every bit of wisdom she could from them.

Hoover obtained her flight instructor certificate in 1992 and continued to work as a guide until she could build the required time fight instructing. She was hired in 1993 as a 135 back country Air Taxi pilot and spent several years hauling hunters, rafters, and gear into the Idaho Wilderness airstrips and ranches. She also worked as a contract pilot for the Forest Service and BLM, continued to flight instruct, and obtained her MEL certificate.

After a short stint as a corporate pilot, flying a Beech Duke and a Mitsubishi MU-2, Hoover realized backcountry flying and flight instruction were her true passion, so she quit to become a full-time instructor and teach backcountry flying for the FAA and on her own. In 1997, she co-founded the McCall Mountain Canyon Flying Seminars with two other lady instructors, after which she spent the next few years developing the curriculum, designing the seminars, authoring the training manuals, and running the seminars from McCall, Idaho. She sold the 120 and bought a Cessna 180, which led to many more adventures, and now owns a 2011 American Champion Scout.

As people who are still not grown up are wont to do, she felt the itch to move on to something bigger, so she sold the seminar business and took a job as the director of the Aviation program at a community college in Oregon while she completed a Ph.D. in education and conducted experimental studies in aviation human factors related to multi-tasking in the cockpit, which ultimately landed her in her current position. Hoover has been teaching in the Aviation Department at Central Washington University for 20 years, was Department Chair for 8 years, and has been a Full Professor since 2012. She has published over 30 professional articles and manuals and given more than 200 public presentations on a variety of aviation topics nationwide. Hoover keeps her hand in giving backcountry instruction in summers through her business, Canyon Flying.

Hoover’s students encouraged her to expand on the training manuals she had written, so in 2018 she invited her long-time mentor and friend, Dick Williams, to collaborate and authored the book “Mountain, Canyon, and Backcountry Flying” published in 2019 by ASA. She was featured in Who’s Who of Professional Women in 2018, was awarded the Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement award in 2019 by Marquis Who’s Who, and was selected as the FAA National Flight Instructor of the Year in 2022.

Evaluating Older Pilots

Dr. Victor Vogel is a board-certified and fellowship-trained medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer prevention and treatment. He obtained his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine, completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and his fellowship in medical oncology at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. Dr. Vogel has also served as the National Vice President for Research at the American Cancer Society.

A pilot since 1980, Dr. Vogel holds a CFII, AGI, and IGI. He has owned a Beech Sierra and for the past 15 years a Cirrus SR22. He has flown to 40 of the 50 states and serves as a FAASTeam Representative. He is a member of the IFR Magazine Editorial Board. Nearing retirement, Dr. Vogel plans to become a full-time flight instructor and is the founder of Susquehanna STEM to the Skies, an educational foundation that will utilize a full-motion advanced aviation training device to introduce high school youth to aviation as a career opportunity.

Aviation Weather:  A Balloon Pilot’s Perspective on Microscale Meteorology

Adam Magee is a Commercial hot air balloon pilot/Flight Instructor, NAFI Elite Balloon Instructor, Designated Pilot Examiner, and active FAA Safety Team Lead Representative. He serves NAFI on the Board of Directors as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee. In 2021, Adam earned the National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year Award. In 2019, Adam earned the District and Central Region FAA Flight Instructor of the Year awards.

Adam is co-founder and President of The Balloon Training Academy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to training new balloon pilots and providing safety and educational resources to balloon pilots and instructors. Adam is also a frequent writer in the FAA Safety Briefing Magazine on hot air balloon safety.

Adam received his Bachelor's and Master's degree in Accounting from the University of Missouri and is a Certified Public Accountant working as a Financial Director at a credit union.

Scalable Safety Management Systems

Charles “Andy” Olvis is an Aviation Accident and Analyst and Investigator with the FAA’s division of Aircraft Accident Investigation and Prevention. He is charged with serving as the liaison between the NTSB and FAA on accidents and incidents, serving as the FAA Investigator-In-Charge for notable investigations, planning and conducting accident analytical studies, and maintaining the integrity of FAA investigations.

Olvis holds a BS in Professional Aeronautics and a Master of Aeronautical Science with dual specializations in Aerospace Operations and Aerospace Management, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has served as an air crewman and air traffic controller in the United States Marine Corps, a Senior Investigator with the NTSB’s Division of Aviation Safety, and as a faculty member at both Texas State Technical College and Baylor University.

He is the recipient of the NTSB Chairman’s Award as well as multiple group awards for major accident investigations.

Debunking Aviation Fads, Fallacies, & Myths

With 28,000 hours in 363 types of aircraft, Barry Schiff has earned every FAA category, class, and flight instructor rating. He retired from TWA in 1998 after 34 years flying everything from the “Connie” to the Boeing 747. He has been a check captain and a designated pilot examiner. Schiff holds five world speed records including one captured from the Soviet Union.

He became an aviation writer at age 21 when he founded a publishing firm that was purchased by Jeppesen in 1963. He has since written 13 books and 1,900 magazine articles.

In 1991 Schiff developed the concept of providing general aviation pilots with safe VFR routes through high-density airspace. A legislative bill mandated the adoption of this concept by the FAA.

In 1995 and with the approval of Jordanian King Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Schiff contributed to the Middle East peace process by leading 35 airplanes from Jerusalem to Jordan and became the first pilot allowed to fly between those countries.

His awards include a Congressional Commendation, the Louis Blériot Air Medal, an honorary doctorate from Embry-Riddle, and Switzerland’s Gold Proficiency Medal. He has been inducted into the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame and the Living Legends of Aviation.

Sweat Showers Not Thunderstorms

Founder of EZWxBrief, Dr. Scott Dennstaedt is a nationally-known expert in aviation weather. He has worked as a meteorologist for the last 40 years has a doctorate in Infrastructures and Environmental Systems from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC).

With a background as a meteorologist, commercial pilot, and experienced CFI with 4,000 logged hours over the last 25 years, he offers a unique approach to teaching general aviation pilots how to minimize their exposure to adverse weather. He is a widely published aviation author that includes his new book, The Skew-T log (p) and Me: A Primer for Pilots and is a contributing editor for FLYING magazine. In his spare time Scott volunteers as EAA's subject matter expert on weather.

Flight Training With Electronic Flight Bags

Ryan Bohlander is an Account Executive focusing on ForeFlight’s Education programs providing support to universities, colleges, and flight schools around the world.

Growing up with aviators in the family, Ryan dreamt of becoming a test pilot like his childhood idol Chuck Yeager from ‘The Right Stuff’. While the Bell X-1 wasn't in the cards, Ryan achieved his dream of becoming a CFI and has a deep passion for sharing his love of aviation with his students.

In his free time, Ryan loves to provide flight instruction as a CFI over the warm desert south of Chandler, AZ.

Caution: Helicopter Wake Turbulence

Ned Parks’ aviation roots date back to his cousin, Oliver Parks, who started the first certified aviation school in the US in 1927. Ned flew UH-1 helicopters in the Army and has run several full service FBO’s.

He holds ATP/CFII/AGI/IGI/CSIP and is rated in both fixed and rotor wing. Ned is a FAASTeam member with 4,800+ flight hours. He owns Aegis 360 Consulting, a global provider of staff development services, business consulting, and strategy.

Eliminating a Mindset of Apathy

Jason Archer is a seasoned educator with a deep passion for aviation. He serves as Chief Flight Instructor for Berkshire Aviation in Great Barrington, MA. There, he prides himself on mentoring a cadre of instructors and sharing distinctive, effective instructional techniques. Jason is particularly passionate about teaching in tailwheels. Jason holds a CFI-I, CFI-G, MEI, AGI, and IGI.

Shortly after completing his bachelor’s degree in astronomy from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst he became a member of the senior management team at the Children’s Museum in West Hartford, CT. Later in his career, Jason became the Director of Floor Programs at the New England Air Museum. Today, Jason serves as the Coordinator of Planetarium Operations at the Glastonbury/East Hartford Magnet School.

He also works as a freelance aviation writer, providing inspirational and technical content for Redbird Aviation Simulations' online landing page.