Meet Our Bronze Legacy Master Instructors

NAFI is proud to recognize our Bronze level Legacy Master Instructors. This title is conferred on NAFI Master Instructors who have earned 5 or more Master Flight or Master Ground accreditation. We thank them for their continued dedication to the flight training profession and participation in the NAFI Master Program.

Greg Brown, 1997-2006:

Greg Brown’s passion for piloting is obvious to anyone who knows his Cockpit Adventures from the Flying Carpet Podcast, his 20-year “Flying Carpet” aviation adventure column in AOPA Flight Training magazine, or who has read his books, Flying Carpet: The Soul of an Airplane, The Savvy Flight Instructor, The Turbine Pilot’s Flight Manual (with Mark Holt), Job Hunting for Pilots, and You Can Fly! (with Laurel & Tom Lippert.)

A licensed pilot since 1972 and a CFI since 1979, Greg was 2000 Industry/FAA National Flight Instructor of the Year, winner of the 1999 NATA Excellence in Pilot Training Award and the 2013 AOPA Let’s Go Flying Award, and the first-ever Master Flight Instructor. He has flown professionally in both scheduled and corporate aviation, and holds an ATP pilot certificate with Boeing 737 type rating, and Flight Instructor certificate with all fixed-wing aircraft ratings.

Douglas Conciatu, MCFI

Conciatu has over 52 years experience in the GA industry, amassing close to 11,000 hours in a variety of equipment and settings, with more than 5,000 hours of dual given. He soloed at the age of 16, going on to earn his private pilot license at 17. While in College, Conciatu earned his commercial pilot license, instrument rating, ground and flight instructor certificates. Never being satisfied with just getting by, he has sought out higher educational opportunities including attaining additional certificates, ratings, and experiences. Conciatu is type rated in a Ford Trimotor (FO-5) and have flown extensively for the EAA in their 4-AT, as well as the Kalamazoo Air Zoo’s 5-AT.

Conciatu has been an Aviation Safety Counselor (now FAAST Lead Team Representative) for over 31 years and a Gold Seal CFI since 1974. In 1998, he was first designated Master CFI, by NAFI. That same year the AOPA Air Safety Foundation named him “Distinguished Volunteer.” In 2005, he was selected Flight Instructor of the Year for the Detroit FSDO. In 2019 Conciatu was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and in 2021 the Phillips 66 Young Eagle Leadership Award.

Other experience includes; Chief Flight Instructor for McKinley Aviation, First Officer on a DC-3, Alaskan Bush Pilot, Chief Pilot for Dove Aerial Advertising, Volunteer line pilot/instructor/check airman at EAA’s Pioneer Airport. While at EAA, Conciatu was on the SMS committee and developed a number of training programs. Conciatu also served as Board Vice President of Macomb Airways, Inc., the operator of Ray Community Airport.

Currently, Conciatu is a freelance flight instructor working out of Ray Community and Romeo airports. One of his prouder accomplishments is having flown over 2300 Young Eagles.

Aaron Dabney, MCFI 8/2013-12/2025:

This is Dabney’s sixth NAFI Master accreditation and distinguishes him as a Bronze Master Legacy Instructor.

Dabney’s earliest memories are of aviation. He grew up riding in the family J-3 Cub with his grandfather and uncle, and his family claims he was three months old the first time he went up. His Saturdays were spent at historic Ball Airport in Victoria, Texas, where he consumed a steady diet of flying stories from World War II veterans, agricultural pilots, and the many other characters who populated that gathering spot. Dabney eventually soloed the family Cub and is now its caretaker.

In 2009, Dabney earned his CFI/II and co-founded his first flight school with a close friend and business partner. It was there that he fell in love with teaching and running a small independent business, and he’s never looked back. He credits small business ownership for making him a better flight instructor, and vice-versa.

He and his wife Alisa now own Waco Flight Training in Waco, Texas, where he trains and mentors the instructional staff with a focus on serving as teachers rather than right-seat pilots. He is also an active contributor to the aviation sciences program at Baylor University. He serves there as assistant chief ground instructor and teaches the introductory course, as well as a first-of-its-kind, standalone course on the fundamentals of instructing.

Dabney is an active volunteer with NAFI, assisting with the Master Flight Instructor program and coordinating the monthly MentorLIVE broadcast.  In 2022, he was elected to his first three-year term on the board of directors.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degree in education from Baylor University. He has been married to his college sweetheart Alisa for nearly 20 years. They love to travel in their free time, including a yearly non-negotiable pilgrimage to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

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Dr. Peter Dittmer, MCFI 10/1998-10/2002, 05/2014-11/2021:

This is Dittmer’s fifth NAFI Master CFI Accreditation. Dittmer works at Central Washington University as the “Chair” of a very busy CFR 141 flight department. He says he has always enjoyed flight training, and particularly enjoys working with students in their journey to become professional aviators. Dittmer is developing research on assessment modeling for private pilot students in CFR 141 programs. A CFI for over 30 years, he has a CFI, CFII, MEI, “Gold Seal” ATP, and Ed.D.

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Steven Goetz, MCFI 8/2011-11/2025:

This is Goetz’s seventh  NAFI Master Accreditation, and distinguishes him as a Bronze Legacy Master Instructor.

For as long as he can remember, Goetz said he has been interested in flying. In 2004, he finally got his chance to start. Now Goetz is a Gold Seal CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, IGI, and an A&P mechanic. 

In 2008, he began flight instructing for Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he is currently the chief flight instructor under their Part 141 certificate, and an associate professor providing both flight training and student evaluation for the university.

In addition to flight instruction, he works with youth through summer camps, the Civil Air Patrol, and Young Eagles. He also works with the FAA Safety Team as a representative.

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David Hensley, MCFI 01/2002-03/2018:

This is Hensley’s eighth consecutive NAFI Master Instructor accreditation.

Dave Hensley is a Part 142 Training Center Manager based in Orlando, Florida. He holds the ATP with CFI/CFII and MEI along with the advanced ground instructor designation. Hensley is a retired Air Force Colonel with extensive experience in both high altitude reconnaissance and jet training operations. Hensley first soloed in 1974 while a student at the USAF Academy. His military flying career started with Air Force pilot training and led to lots of instrument time as a WC-130 “Typhoon Chaser” weather reconnaissance pilot.

After several years of hurricane flying, Hensley cross trained into jets as a T-38 “Talon” instructor and check pilot at Reese AFB, Texas. Next, he volunteered for the U-2 program and fell in love with high altitude operations flying as a U-2/TR-1 “Dragon Lady” mission pilot, instructor and evaluator.

After a full military flying career, Hensley retired and continued to fulfill his passion for aviation as a flight instructor. He was a flight academy Part 141 Chief Instructor as well a Part 142 Training Center Evaluator. He is a FAA Gold Seal flight instructor and has held the National Association of Flight Instructor’s Master Flight Instructor designation since 2002.  Hensley has over 10,000 flight hours with over 5000 hours of dual instruction given, and has earned a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from South Dakota State University. Hensley has been a CFI for over 33 years.

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John "Mike" Kehoe, MCFI 2015 - 2024:

This is Kehoe's fifth NAFI Master Instructor accreditation. 

Kehoe said it has been a privilege and honor to work with students, flight schools, and CFIs that inspired him to be his best. Throughout his 30-plus of years in avia5on, Kehoe’s safety-first a]tude has resulted in a spotless FAA safety record. 

A football coach once gave Kehoe advice that had a profound influence on his life: Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you’re right. “I cannot thank the staff at NAFI enough for having the confidence in me to grant me the esteemed honor of holding the NAFI Master Instructor 5tle,” Kehoe said. “Whatever you do in life, be the best and the rewards will come naturally.” 

Timothy Lemke, MCFI 7/2002-8/2016:

This is Lemke's Seventh consecutive NAFI Master Instructor accreditation. Tim Lemke was fascinated with airplanes and aviation from the time he was a small child, growing up on a dairy farm near Green Bay, Wisconsin. He began pursuing that aviation interest in his mid-twenties by earning his private pilot’s license in 1976. Lemke continued his training by obtaining an instrument rating in 1985, followed by a commercial pilot’s license in 1987 and the flight instructor license in 1988. Lemke now has accumulated over 5200 flight hours including more than 4200 hours of dual instruction given and has recommended more than 75 pilots for practical tests.

Lemke is the current president of the Winnebago Flying Club based at Wittman Field Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a position he has held for the past dozen years. He is also a representative for the FAA FAASTeam and a member of the National Association of Flight Instructors, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association. Lemke serves on NAFI’s Master Flight Instructor Board of Review, and was awarded NAFI’s Jack Eggspuehler Award in 2013.

Lemke retired from Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation in 2011 where he was the manager of the Manufacturing Engineering function at Gulfstream’s Appleton, Wisconsin facility.  He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Arts Education from Stout State University.

Lemke continues to be very active with flight instructional activities at both the Appleton and Oshkosh Airports. He specializes in primary and instrument instruction and also provides tailwheel instruction and specialized instruction for the Garmin 430/530 GPS.

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Lynnwood "Woody" Minar, MCFI 9/2006-9/2020:

This is Minar’s seventh consecutive NAFI Master Instructor accreditation.

After retiring from the CIA in 1998, Minar took up flying and received his private pilot certificate in July 2000 in a Cessna 172. The bug hit him hard and after getting his instrument rating and tailwheel and high performance endorsements, he got his CFI in 2003. Since then he has earned his Gold Seal CFI, CFII, Glider CFI (CFI-G), AGI and IGI. That was soon followed by his single engine sea and multi-engine land certificates, and in 2016 his multi-engine sea certificate.

He is also a FAASTeam Lead Representative and since 2012 a designated pilot examiner (DPE) for the Minneapolis FSDO and has given nearly a thousand flight tests for private, commercial, and instrument in Ssngle engine land and sea airplanes.

In 2009, Minar was awarded the Minneapolis FSDO CFI of the Year. In 2012 he was the Minneapolis FSDO and Great Lakes Region CFI of the Year and in 2013 named the Minneapolis FSDO and Great Lakes Region FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year. Nearing 9,000 hours, he teaches seaplane training for Adventure Seaplanes in Lino Lakes, Minnesota and Lake Wales, Florida. He has taught private and instrument ground schools for Osceola Aero and Wisconsin Indianhead Community College and given safety seminars to more than 7,000 pilots throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Florida. He is a yearly presenter for the FAA and AOPA at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh. Minar has served on the board of directors for 16 years and is the chief flight instructor for the Wild River Flying Club and is an glider instructor for the Red Wing Soaring Association at the Osceola (WI) Municipal Airport.

Minar is also a contributing editor for Midwest Flyer Magazine writing safety, humorous, and trip-related articles. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 48 years; they have two daughters and two grandsons.

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John R. Morrow, MCFI 11/1998-3/2009:

 Morrow started flying in 1989 in Cessna 152's and got his private that same year. He moved on immediately to his instrument rating and completed it the following year. Soon thereafter he obtained his commercial rating. By 1996 Morrow obtained his CFI certificate and began working as a volunteer with the FAA Albany FSDO as a Safety Counselor setting up safety seminars and teaching safety modules. In 1997 he obtained his CFII, AGI, and IGI certificates. In 1999 Morrow obtained a seaplane rating and went out and bought an Aeronca 7CCM on floats.

In 2002 Morrow purchased a farm on a small river and made a 900' grass strip and seaplane base. He taught tailwheel and SES from from his house for years including ski flying in the winter. He eventually bought a Citabria 7 GCBC and bought floats for it and continued teaching. In 1997 Morrow founded EAA Chapter 1359 in Kingston NY and began a local Young Eagles program with up until Covid we did 3 times a year and have flown 2500 kids by our local chapter. In 1999  Morrow obtained his CFI "Gold Seal" and in 2008 an ATP certificate. Morrow is now 70, still flying, still loving it, and still teaching. I started in the Master program when it first started and renewed 5 times

Charles A. Skelton, MCFI 12/1998-07/2011:

Gregory Smith, MCFI 04/2008-05/2018:

This is Smith’s Fifth consecutive NAFI Master Instructor accreditation. Smith began flying 17 years ago while working as a sales executive for the WD-40 company. After earning his CFI certificate in 2002 he began instructing part time. In 2004 he made the career jump to full-time instructor.

He currently flies a G-58 Baron and C441 Conquest II out of Waukegan, IL for Aldridge Electric. He instructs part-time at the Westosha Flying Club in Wilmot, WI where he is also on the Board of Directors and serves as the club treasurer.

He completed his ATP in March of this year, is a FAASTeam representative and a FAA Gold Seal Instructor holding CFII, MEI, and AGI privileges. He has given over 6,000 hours of dual instruction.

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Orlando Villaverde, MCFI 4/2018-11/2024:

Villaverde background in a academia includes a Doctoral Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance and International Management from Nova Southeastern University. He also holds Masters degree in Aeronautical Science and Business Administration in Aviation from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. His experience in aviation included working previously as a pilot and a supervisor for the City of Miami Police Department’s Aviation Detail. He possesses FAA dual flight instructor certificates in airplanes and helicopters with thousands of hours of teaching experience.

He has provided initial and advance training to students seeking a Private, Commercial, Instrument and Flight Instructor certificates and ratings. During his tenure with Miami Dade College's School of Aviation, he was nominated as a General Aviation Flight Instructor of the year, Southern Region for 2005 and 2014 by the Federal Aviation Administration and currently serves as a member of the FAASTeam /Aviation Safety Program. Villaverde says he has great faith in education, which is displayed in the classroom with his students who he believes are the greatest asset.

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Dale Wilson, MCFI 10/1999-10/2013, MGI 10/2013-12/2017:

This is Wilson's second NAFI Master Ground Instructor accreditation; he is a seven-time consecutive NAFI Master Flight Instructor. Wilson teaches courses in flight crew physiology and psychology, threat and error management, aviation safety management, and aviation weather as a professor in the Aviation Department at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. For the past nine years he has also taught private pilot ground school in the department’s Part 141 flight training program. A pilot for more than 35 years, he has logged several thousand hours in single- and multi-engine airplanes in the United States and Canada. He holds, or has held, pilot certifications including: ATP, CFI, AGI and IGI from the Federal Aviation Administration and ATPL and Class I Flight Instructor from Transport Canada.

Wilson has devoted his professional life to studying why pilots make the mistakes they do. In his efforts to better understand human performance factors such as perception, attention, memory and decision- making, he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Trinity Western University in British Columbia (1994) and a Master’s degree in Aviation Safety at the University of Central Missouri (1996).

He has written extensively in scholarly journals and professional magazines, including NAFI Mentor on such human factors issues as the visual limitations of detecting other aircraft and flying at night, cognitive biases in pilot decision-making, and VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Managing Risk: Best Practices for Pilots, a recent book co-authored by Wilson and published by Aviation Supplies and Academics, describes many of the significant threats to safe flight operations, offers insights into how and why pilots make errors that exacerbate them, and provides best-practice countermeasures needed to successfully manage them.

Click to Download Dale's Press Release!