CFI
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New Flight Instructor – Joseph Oberholtzer
Jan 06 2021Date: December 10, 2020
Certification: Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI)
Instructor: Lynzie Hudson
Aircraft: N54102
“I am looking forward to sharing my love of flying with others and continuing to improve my abilities as a pilot and now as an instructor”~ Joey
Welcome to our family of instructors! Joey completed his final checkride to become a flight instructor with us. We are so proud to have been with him through this journey and can’t wait for him to share his love of flying with others. Congrats from all of us!

New Instrument Instructors – Cheryl Mitrus & Zibin He
Aug 07 2020Date: July 28, 2020
Certifications: Certificated Flight Instructor – Instrument
Instructor: Jen Watson
Aircraft: Cessna N54102
A huge congratulations to two of our instructors for earning an instrument rating on their flight instructor certificates. These new CFIIs trained with our Chief Instructor Jen on our new Redbird sim and Cessnas with Garmin 530 and 650. They are very qualified and well-trained on our aircraft and simulators to help you add an instrument rating to your certificate. Way to nail a first-time pass of your checkride with Richard Conte, Cheryl & Zibin!!!

Newest Pilots!
Jun 25 2020Evgenii Sikachev
Date: May 20, 2020
Certification: Instrument Rating
Instructors: James Hwang, Sara Stumpf & Scott Holland
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Alex Ambrose
Date: May 26, 2020
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Cheryl Mitrus
Aircraft: Cessna N98485
Lukasz Weber
Date: June 6, 2020
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Cheryl Mitrus
Aircraft: Cessna N12234
Graham Harbman
Date: June 12, 2020
Certification: Certificated Flight Instructor
Instructor: Dick Chang
Aircraft: Cessna N12234
Randy Rerucha
Date: June 22, 2020
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Scott Holland
Aircraft: Citabria N9091L
Derrick Gendron
Date: June 22, 2020
Certification: Private Pilot
Instructor: Mitchell Templeton
Aircraft: Cessna N9027H

Our Chief Instructor, Jen Watson, earns “Master CFI”
Jan 24 2020AeroDynamic’s Chief Flight Instructor, Jen Watson, has been awarded Master CFI accreditation by the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI). This distinction is held by only an average of 300 flight instructors per year!
“The NAFI Master Flight Instructor designation is a national accreditation for aviation educators that is based on a system of advanced professional standards and peer review. The designation is granted by NAFI and has two levels: the NAFI Associate Master Flight Instructor, and the NAFI Master Flight Instructor or Master Ground Instructor. These accreditation’s publicly recognize aviation educators who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional growth, and service to the aviation community, and they set professional standards to which all professional aviation instructors and educators can aspire.
Both levels of the accreditation process focus primarily on the individual’s training activity and evaluation of pilots as well as his or her experience—the foundations of what an instructor is able to pass along to his or her students. They emphasize active instruction and pilot evaluation, not simply taking courses or the tenure of an individual’s instructor certificate. They are not honorary awards that recognize long-time service; rather, they are recognition for the individual who continues to practice aviation education at the highest level.
Accreditation requires a rigorous process of on-going professional activity. Like a flight instructor certificate, NAFI Master Instructor accreditation’s must be renewed every 24 months to assure a dedication to continuous involvement.”

New Flight Instructor – Ivan Stanojevic
Oct 09 2019Date: September 26, 2019
Certification: Flight Instructor (CFI)
Instructor: Jen Watson
Aircraft: Pacer N8712D
Wahoooo! A big congrats to Ivan for achieving this major milestone in his piloting life. Ivan passed his CFI checkride on his first try, which is a serious accomplishment! His hard work has paid off and we are so excited that he will be teaching at our San Jose location in the Cessna and Citabria.
Ivan has been fantasizing about flying planes since he was a child. His first general aviation flight was in a Cessna to the Grand Canyon for a boy scout trip. Ever since that flight, he knew aviation would one day be a part of his life. He began taking introductory flying lessons in high school and later studied aviation at San Jose State. His aviation aspirations, however, were put on hold while he redirected his focus on a software startup. A decade and a half later, he found himself in a great position to continue exploring flight while also pondering the use of fixed wing aircraft to access the wilderness. After earning a private pilot certificate, Ivan began hunting for a capable back-country aircraft, which ended up being the tailwheel Piper Pacer. During his time as a private pilot exploring the backcountry, he added a seaplane rating at Kenmore in Seattle, WA. Loving all his new flight privileges, he realized a desire to share his joy of aviation with prospective pilots and friends. Ivan is excited to bring new pilots into the skies, help experienced pilots access new destinations, and support all pilots in achieving their aviation goals.

New CFII – Adam Sciupac
Nov 30 2017Congrats to one of our own! Adam passed his Certificated Flight Instructor – Instrument (CFII) checkride just a few hours ago. He should also have his Commercial Multi-Engine Certificate in a few days. Adam began his flight training with AeroDynamic a couple of years ago and has progressed very quickly. We are so proud of you, Adam!

New B25 Pilot – Instructor Dick Chang
Nov 29 2016Long-time AeroDynamic Aviation instructor Dick Chang recently knocked a big item off his Bucket List: Type-rated B25 pilot!
Upon signing up for the course, he received a flight suit, POH, and 64 questions to work on – all before showing up for training in Delaware. After 10 hours of ground school, followed by 3 hours in the B25 called “Panchito” the following day with another student, he performed the required airwork and 3 takeoffs and landings according to FAR 61.55. Upon successful completion of the checkride, Dick received a SIC type rating on the B25!
Congrats from all of his family at AeroDynamic on this amazing achievement!

New Commercial Drone Pilot – Tom Morley
Sep 26 2016
Another of AeroDynamic’s instructors and summer-time agriculture pilot, Tom Morely, earned his Small UAV operator’s certification on September 20th. There’s isn’t much he can’t fly. Way to add another notch in the belt, Tom!
For more information on how to obtain this certificate, please visit our webpage on UAV/drone licensing – click here.
Our Amazing Staff at Reid-Hillview Celebrates the Holidays
Dec 14 2015-
- The entire family, including supportive significant others
Thanks to all the incredible people who devote their time to making new pilots and passing on their love of aviation to future generations. AeroDynamic Aviation would not be the amazing place it is without this hard-working group of staff and instructors, our aviation family. Special thanks also goes to those significant others who support them.
Happy Holidays from all of us to you and yours!
Four in 24!
Nov 20 2015Congratulations to Matt Bragen on becoming a Certified Flight Instructor! This is an amazing accomplishment and we are proud to see him pass his checkride and join us in training more pilots! A special thank you to CFII Dick Chang for getting Matt prepared for this complex checkride!

Matt Bragen, CFI