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Our Instructors undergo a unique internship program, and all are required to earn a tailwheel teaching endorsement in the first six months of employment. Our CFI's are employees of the company, not "free-lance" contractors, and no other institution in Southern California can match our record of successful instructor training: in addition to providing our own staff, we have placed instructors at many other major flight schools. More than 60 of our instructors have gone on to careers with the airlines.

Here are the current (January, 2009) statistics:

  • 22 Instructors, averaging 4,600 flight hours and 2,900 hours dual instruction given.
  • 20 are aerobatic pilots and have tailwheel endorsements, and 11 have aerobatic competition experience.
  • 9 are instrument instructors, 7 are multi-engine instructors.
  • 7 have glider ratings.
  • 12 now own or have owned at least one airplane.
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Senior Staff


Michael Church--Chief Instructor
Church started in aviation as a sport parachutist and then moved to airplanes and gliders. He has been teaching flying--airplanes, aerobatics and soaring--for over 40 years and has given more than 12,000 hours of flight instruction. He is recognized as a Master Instructor and Master Aerobatic Instructor and was honored by the FAA in 2005 as National Safety Counselor of the Year. Selected articles by Church are published in the Library section.




Lyn Carlson--Director of Training
Lyn earned her Flight Instructor Certificate in 1978 and has since provided more than 5,000 hours flight instruction. Widely known and respected nationally, she earned National Flight Instructor of the Year honors from the FAA in 1995.
In addition to acting as Sunrise Director of Training, Lyn is an FAA Designated Examiner, responsible for providing FAA Pilot Checkrides to hundreds of Southern California pilots every year.




Pam Hengsteler--Assistant Chief Instructor
Pam has worked as a flight instructor since 1992 and has given more than 5000 hours of dual instruction. An assistant Chief Instructor at Sunrise for much of that time, she was honored by the FAA with the 2002 "Exceptional Aviator Award" in recognition of her career flight instructor accomplishments.






Diane Myers--Chief Multi-Engine Instructor
Diane is a Continental Airlines captain (retired), with extensive experience in that airline's training department. She owns and actively flies a cabin-class Cessna 414.


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Staff List / Courses Taught
Private•Commercial•Instrument (IFR)•Multiengine•Tailwheel•J3 Cub (including Sport Pilot)
Aerobatics (Aero)•High Perf. Aerobatics•Cirrus Standardized Instructor (CSIP)•Garmin 1000

Instructor

Priv

Comm

IFR

Multi

Tail-
wheel

J3
Cub

Aero

H.P.
Aero
CSIP
G1000

Michael Church
Chief Flight Instructor

             
All
   

Lyn Carlson
Director of Training

             
Pam Hengsteler
Assistant Chief Instructor
         

Ty Frisby

             
All
   
Diane Myers
Chief Instructor Multi
         

Jon Nash
Advanced Aerobatics

             
All
Chris Bebensee
       
All
Daniel Wisehart              
All
   

James Smet

                 
Ron Rapp            
 All
   

Bill Hill

                 
Rich Erickson                

Larry Tyson

               
Kenji Sato          
Eric Bushouse          
Albert Kim      
Marcelo Lemos        

Josh Simms

             
George Bullman    
David Smith    
Teddy Nomura    
Caroline Kinsbergen    
Marcelo Padovani    
Mike Powers    
Josh Muncie  
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