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Our Instructors undergo a unique four month internship program, and all are required to earn a tailwheel teaching endorsement in the first month of employment. 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. Our CFI's are employees of the company, not "free-lance" contractors. More than 50 have gone on to careers with the airlines.

Here are the current (March, 2007) statistics:

  • 25 Instructors, averaging 4,200 flight hours and 2,700 hours dual instruction given.
  • All are aerobatic pilots, 23 have tailwheel endorsements, and 11 have aerobatic competition experience.
  • 12 are instrument instructors, 10 are multi-engine instructors.
  • 6 have glider ratings.
  • 12 now own or have owned at least one airplane.
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Michael Church--Chief Instructor
Church has been teaching flying--airplanes, aerobatics and soaring--for over 35 years. With Lyn Carlson, he writes all Sunrise training manuals. Church has given more than 11,000 hours of flight instruction and is recognized by the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) as a Master Instructor and Master Aerobatic Instructor. Most recently, Church was honored by the FAA as National Safety Counselor of the Year in 2005. He served as Contributing Editor for nine years for Private Pilot Magazine and has written monthly columns for the west coast Pacific Flyer for twenty-five years.
Selected articles 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.




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.






Jon Nash--Advanced Aerobatics
Jon started flying as a teenager--power, gliders and aerobatics. He has been instructing in the aerobatic programs at Sunrise for more than six years. Jon is an active aerobatic competitor in the Unlimited Category and has medaled in the annual California Championship Series five times--at least once in Sportsman, Advanced and Unlimited. He flies a very active airshow schedule in his Sunrise-sponsored Edge 540 monoplane (pictured left)
.
Diane Myers--Chief Multi-Engine Instructor
Diane is a Continental Airlines captain (retired), with extensive experience in the airline training department. She owns and actively flies a cabin-class Cessna 411.


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
       
Chris Bebensee
Assistant Chief Instructor
         All

Jon Nash
Advanced Aerobatics

             All

Ty Frisby
Advanced Aerobatics

               All
Diane Myers
Chief Instructor Multi
         

James Smet

                 
Ron Rapp              All    

Bill Hill

                 
Rich Erickson                

Larry Tyson

               
Kenji Sato          
Shigeri Mori            

Tom Call

           
Jeff Pilch          

Frank Columbus

             
Daniel Wisehart          
Eric Bushouse    
Albert Kim      
Marcelo Lemos        
George Bullman
Josh Muncie    
     

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