Flying Particles Certified Flight Instructors

Flying Particles, Incorporated has 14 club members who are FAA Certified Flight Instructors (CFIs) and have been approved by the club’s Flight Safety Officer to provide flight instruction in FPI aircraft.  These club CFIs are independent contractors, and as specified in our bylaws (html link), are the only CFIs who may instruct in club aircraft.  Our club CFIs have a range of backgrounds and are highly experienced.  We’re confident you’ll find a good student-teacher match with several of them.

Choosing a CFI

Each person has his or her own style of learning, and the same is true of teaching styles, so it is important to find a CFI who works well with you.  Many factors will influence your decision, but personality match and style of communication are surely among the most important.  Keep in mind that a CFI’s hourly rates and total flight hours may have little correlation with how well you’ll succeed in learning from them. 

You can use this web page to learn a little about each of our CFIs, and hopefully recognize a face you’ve seen at our monthly meetings or wash parties.  We have purposefully kept the information brief.  We recommend you talk with a few CFIs, and equally as important, a few of their references, before choosing one for your training goal. 

While most members like the consistency of using one CFI as their primary private pilot or instrument rating instructor, many find it helpful to periodically fly with a another instructor to see a different viewpoint.  Not every CFI will be a good match for every student; if it’s not working out, try another CFI—you’re in charge of your training.  For more information about choosing a flight instructor, see http://www.m0a.com/?p=47. 

Contacting a CFI or a Reference

If you are a club member and wish to contact a CFI or speak with his references, you may obtain their contact information from ScheduleMaster (click on the User tab).  If you are not yet a member, or have just joined, please contact our Membership VP, Mark Gravatt (html link), at (925) 323-8223, who can suggest a few CFIs that may be a good match for you. 

	Vlado Bevc Occupation: Electrical Engineer and ProjectSupervisor, Public Utilities Commission (Retired) Types of Instruction: BFR Times Available: By arrangement References: Jim Cambier, Don Davis, John Callahan
	Pete Eltgroth Occupation: Retired physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Types of Instruction: Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, Flight Instructor, Instrument Rating, FAA Flight Reviews, Instrument Proficiency Check, FAAST Lessons, Mountain Flying. (In appropriate non-FPI aircraft: tailwheel techniques, aerobatics.) Times Available: Mon-Fri: all day and evening, except Wednesday evening. Saturday all day until 4PM Sunday 10AM-4PM References: Dave Head, Bob Keller
	Bob Turner Occupation: Recently retired physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Types of Instruction: stage checks, instrument rating, CFII, aircraft checkouts,recurrent flight checks, biennial flight reviews, instrument proficiency checks. (commercial and CFI training given appropriate aircraft) Times Available: All days and evenings except Sunday mornings. References: David Osborn, Matthias Frank, George Farquar
PeterVillano.html	Peter Villano Occupation: Retired airline pilot Types of Instruction: All types of single and multi-engine land training, primary through ATP. Times Available: Weekdays, Weekends Days and Nights. References: Eric Rhodes, Terry Holmes, Jim Clark
	Ed Williams Occupation: Physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Types of Instruction: Instrument rating, CFII, Garmin 430/530, mountain flying, aircraft checkouts, recurrent flight checks, FAA flight review (commercial and CFI training subject to availability of suitable aircraft). Times Available: References: Maynard Vitalis, Bruce Langdon, Bryan Bertacchi
	Evan Reed Occupation:  Physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Types of Instruction:  Private, instrument, commercial, CFI, FAA Flight Review, IPC, mountain flying, spins Times Available:  Weekends and evenings during the week References:  Don Breedlove, Brian Ross, Scott Burkhart
	Bill Sutcliffe Occupation:  Retired physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Types of Instruction:  Private pilot training, FAA & FPI flight reviews, complex, high-performance, and tailwheel endorsements, mountain flying training. Times Available:  All days except Saturday mornings and Sunday. References:  Bob Butler
	Michael Schneider type of instruction:  Private, Commercial, ATP, Instrument, Multi, Glider, BFR, IPC Occupation:  Mechanical Engineer references:  Jim Silke, Brad Allen (former FPI) Times available:  evenings and Saturdays
	Bob Ackley Eddy Clayton Jason Nikkari Steve Patenaude Steve Radcliffe Dennis Vied