Strategies

For CFIs, Aviation Educators

April 2026

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Today marks two weeks before the start of the yearly Sun'n Fun fiesta in Lakeland, FL. If you haven't already found a place to stay in Lakeland, you should hustle to find accommodations soon.

SAFE will again be at the center of Sun'n Fun activities this year, with triple booth 61-1, 61-2 and 61-3 in the Alpha (air-conditioned) hangar. We'll have gifts and surprises for SAFE members, but the real value in joining us is the member-to-member discussions that help us maintain a high degree of instructor professionalism.

Mike Shiflett of CFI Bootcamp will be broadcasting his regular Saturday noon Power Hour from the SAFE booth.

Join us Wednesday WINGs at Prop 75 at noon for free chicken wings for SAFE members and *ALL* CFIs. (Please register at the booth to attend)

Join us Saturday "CFI Roundtable" at Prop 75 from 5 to 6 pm for FREE Ice Cream Sundaes for SAFE members and *ALL* CFIs. CFI Bootcamp's Mike Shiflett will participate and this session will be broadcast on the SAFE pages on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube as well as the CFI Bootcamp web site. (Please register at the booth to attend)

Get FREE SnF admission by helping SAFE as a volunteer. One shift earns you a free day pass, and a full day of volunteering earns a free week. Please sign up here.

SAFE will be announcing yet another SAFE scholarship during the show.

Daily and weekly admission tickets for this year's Sun 'n Fun are $50 and $180, although SAFE members get $5 off daily admission and $30 off weekly tickets. Child daily and weekly tickets are $20 and $70 (under 12 free). See SAFE Website "Member Benefits."

Thank you all for joining and supporting SAFE through our incredible transformation from the original vision in 2009 to our current success with over 8,000 members. With your help, our growth has been exponential. SAFE has become a powerful force in aviation education and safety.

I especially want to thank founders Doug Stewart, Rich Stowell, John Dorcey, and Sherry Rossiter for their vision, expertise, and help over the years. Board chairs Donna Wilt and Eric Hake, and many others, have contributed greatly to our continuing vital achievements.

While leaving is bittersweet, I do so with the trust that SAFE's future leadership will have the vision and commitment to take SAFE to even greater heights while respecting our original mission statement and rules of operation. SAFE must remain dedicated to continuously delivering valuable resources to our members while promoting educational excellence.

Thank you for your trust, your hard work, and the memories. It has been a truly wonderful journey.

With warmest gratitude,

David St. George

SAFE has been advocating for well-run Part 61 flight schools in the year-plus of controversial hearings on modernizing FAR Part 141. SAFE has warned members that the impact of 141 modernization on Part 61 schools will likely be serious. This SAFE Blog has additional information.

The recommendations for the 141 revamp are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register today, April 1, proposing changes to make it easier for a flight school to get 141 certification. Unlike most proposed major changes, this new vision will be available for public comment for only 10 days; such requests for comment are typically available for 30 to 60 days. SAFE, the National Flight Training Alliance (NFTA) and other alphabet groups are protesting the shortened period for public comment online.

The goal of the 141 modernization effort is to make it easier for flight schools to earn a Part 141 certification and graduation authority. Currently, fewer than 30 percent of U.S. flight schools are 141 approved, and of the 474 Part 141 schools, only 15% have "graduation authority." The FAA wants to expand both of these numbers dramatically.

Under FAA regulations, Part 61 "flight schools" are actually groups of independent CFIs working together. Only 141 FAA-approved flights get issued an Air Agency Certificate (with specific organization and approved courses), which allows money to start flowing from the government for veterans' benefits and other government funding sources.

SAFE is an all-volunteer not-for-profit organization. (See our Mission Statement). The SAFE Board of Directors consists of 9 people, each serving a three-year term. We are always also seeking volunteers to help on committees. We need passionate professionals who are eager to work at improving educator professionalism and aviation safety.

If you are motivated to work and have organizational skills, please complete this Governance form for our Governance Committee. We will evaluate each application and schedule an appropriate interview.

We would also be grateful for recommendations from you if you know of a professional willing to serve on the SAFE board. We especially need expertise in the legal and financial areas to keep SAFE strong.

SAFE CFI News and Tips

For Certificated Flight Instructors

Flight Training Industry

At this year's Sun'n Fun at KLAL, SAFE will be commanding three big booth spaces in Hangar A, 61.1, 61.2 and 61.3. When it turns hot, Alpha hangar is air-conditioned.

In 26 states, you'll soon be competing for airspace with a variety of eVTOLs. The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program plans to involve urban air taxis, regional airlines, cargo and logistics, emergency medical response, autonomous flight and offshore flights to oil platforms. Includes an FAA one-minute video extolling the virtues of eVTOLs.

TSA is now offering monthly online training for CFIs and flight schools. The sessions will update FTSP portal changes. Seminars will be Tuesday, April 7, Tuesday May 12 and Tuesday June 9.

How do you keep a student from demonstrating stupidity? A (now-former) student pilot in Quebec who "put on a show" for friends at a house party is charged with dangerous flying and criminal negligence. Both Jean Frédéric Pinard Decelles and his passenger were injured.

A retired space systems engineer has compiled GA accident statistics for an AvBrief article called The Myths of Misfortune. The 2,100 accidents he studied include Cessna 150 through 210, Piper PA-28, Cirrus SR20 and SR22.

Sonex LLC, long a leader in affordable experimental aviation, closed in March. There are more than 2,000 Sonex aircraft projects worldwide, and more than 700 flying aircraft.

Two well-known SAFE aviation educators won two of the three top prizes in this year's FAA-Industry National General Aviation Awards.

SAFE Lifetime Member Mike Jesch of Orange CA won 2026 FAASTeam Rep of the Year. Jesch is an airline captain with more than four decades of flying experience and serves as a FAA Safety Team lead representative in Southern California. He is also deeply involved in pilot education efforts, including the WINGS Pilot Proficiency Program. He works as a flight instructor and participates in airspace and procedure development in Southern California, and is a frequent contributor to aviation pages on Facebook.

SAFE Member and Master Instructor Mike Kloch of Bend, OR was named this year's CFI of the Year in the annual selection. Kloch, also known as “Cuckoo,” has accumulated more than 8,300 flight hours across 75 aircraft types and currently serves as CEO and chief instructor of Specialized Aero Works. In addition to his time as a flight instructor, Kloch also served as a Marine Corps pilot and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. In civilian aviation, he provides instruction focused on upset prevention and recovery training and participates in test flying for aircraft development programs.

Roger Whittier of Phoenix, AZ won the 2026 AMT of the Year Award. Whittier is an A&P mechanic with IA and runs a maintenance business in Arizona. He specializes in owner-assisted inspections to further train pilots. He has also been involved with the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association, where he contributed to training initiatives and technical education programs related to aircraft systems and maintenance.

The General Aviation Awards have recognized aviation professionals since 1962 for advancing safety, education and professionalism in flight instruction. The FAA will formally present the awards in July during EAA AirVenture 2026. Each honoree’s name will also be etched onto the perpetual plaque displayed in the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum.

The FAA will present the awards with all due pomp and ceremony this July during EAA AirVenture 2026 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. In addition to being featured in national aviation media and receiving gifts from industry sponsors, each honoree’s name will be etched onto the perpetual plaque displayed in the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum.

SAFE CFI News and Tips

For Certificated Flight Instructors

New Instructional Aids and Info

Not sure if you've missed a required endorsement for a learner facing a DPE for the first time? Join us on Sunday, April 12 for our webinar on "Checkride Preparation (Endorsements and Experience)." A pre-webinar study guide is downloadable before the webinar.

The TNFlyGirl crash has evidence of a lack of skill, say SAFE members Max Trescott and Rob Mark, hosts of NTSB NewsTalk on AvBrief. ADS-B showed worsening pitch oscillations, with the pilot apparently unable to control the Beech Debonair. Six other crashes are analyzed.

Also new on AvBrief is a section called The Instrument Aviator. SAFE members CFII Elaine Kauh and AvBrief's Larry Anglisano run the section, concentrating on deep-diving, hard-hitting, scenario-based IFR articles.

Garmin, in collaboration with Hughes Aerospace, has added RNAV visual approaches for 'difficult' airport approaches. There are now 46 Guided Visuals to 36 airports. Contrary to popular belief, VFR weather is required for all of these Guided Visuals.

SAFE member CFIs qualify for a $100 rebate on Bose A30 or ProFlight Series 2 aviation headsets. Have your SAFE member number ready.

We would greatly appreciate your support as we share this survey with the SAFE network, including applicants, instructors, and flight training organizations who have recently participated in or coordinated a practical exam. Your help in completing this survey will ensure we capture meaningful, representative input from across the industry.

The survey is anonymous and limited to one response per individual. Thank you in advance for your support. Please let us know if you have any questions or if there’s anything else we can provide.

Newest SAFE Benefit

👉SAFE "CFI NOTAMs" Critical Items

Often Missed by Educators👈

Retired space systems engineer Ron Wanttaja examined more than 5,900 GA accidents over the past 25 years. For CFIs, he's plucked the 9 most common training airplane accidents in the NTSB files. You'll find The Myths Of Misfortune in this issue of AvBrief.com.

Myths debunked in this article include:

• Continued VFR into IMC is a leading cause of accidents. False.
• Fuel exhaustion is a major accident cause. False, although an old Cessna 150 has about twice the rate of fuel related accidents as its offspring, the now-venerable Cessna 152.
• Mechanical failure accidents are common. Overall, they're about 13% of all accidents, except for the Beech Bonanza A36 and Cirrus SR22, which are involved in nearly 20% of all accidents.

SAFE CFI News and Tips

For Certificated Flight Instructors

FAA, NTSB, Tribal Related News

CFIs who fly near Native American reservations know that while most tribes are friendly, some can be territorial if you land there. Last October, Darrin Smedsmo made an emergency landing on a highway in Red Lake Nation, an reservation in Minnesota. The Tribe seized his 70-year-old Stinson 108 and are demanding $7,750 to release it. At press time, Smedsmo is still waiting for his day in Tribal court; it's been more than 5 months. Today's SAFE Lesson for CFIs: Consider tribal land a foreign country.

The SAFE Mentorship Connection group needs you, as an experienced CFI, to help newer CFIs learn the ropes and improve their instructional professionalism. Zoom sessions are on Tuesdays from 7:00 pm Eastern (23Z) and last up to two hours.SAFE Mentorship Connector director Dorothy Schick hosts each meeting.

Weekly roundtable discussions with the CFI Study Group on CFI topics often have prominent guest speakers, most recently CFI Bootcamp's Mike Shiflett. The 20 or so CFIs and CFI-wannabes who attend each study session can get into one-on-one conversations with DPEs.

SAFE members get 20% off any ForeFlight subscription. Potential yearly savings: $75.

SAFE member CFIs get 25% off all Gleim Aviation products except kits, ATP, FIRC, IARC or sim hardware. Call 800-874-5346 for the discount.

Buy a pair of "Delta Zulus" and Lightspeed Aviation donates $100 discount and 10% toward the SAFE "CFI Scholarship Fund!"

More Information

SAFE members get 20% off select merchandise.

Platinum Cirrus Training Center provides flight training, aircraft rentals and sales at KAXH.

SAFE member CFIs qualify for a $100 rebate on Bose A30 or ProFlight Series 2 aviation headset.

SAFE members get a 20% discount on ASA products.



SAFE members get 10% off any MyGoFlight product.



SAFE members receive a 20% discount on all King Schools Training products. 

SAFE members get 20% off all books/CDs by Max Trescott, Cirrus Platinum CSIP and author of several guides on using advanced avionics.

SAFE members get 5% off any Qref checklists. Use code SAFE5.

SAFE members get 20% off the Artful Flying book by Michael Maya Charles.

SAFE is a 501(c)(3) educational, not-for-profit professional organization building aviation educator excellence and aviation safety. Our more than 8,000 members include many of the best-known, best-credentialed and most experienced CFIs, as well as many FAA Designated Pilot Examiners.

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