PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTORS

What makes your school's instructors different from the others? That is a question that prospective clients should ask all flight schools. Pinnacle Aviation Academy believes we have the right answer.

First: Our management team is made up of professional instructors with extensive flying and teaching experience. These instructors set our high standards and are mentors for the remainder of our instructor team. Our management staff includes the following professionals:

George McJimsey - Airman Certification Representative. George holds a Multi-Engine Airline Transport Pilot Certificate and Certified Flight Instructor, Instrument Flight Instructor and a Multi-Engine Flight Instructor Certificates. He is also an Assistant Chief Instructor. While a partner at ProFlight, Inc., George obtained extensive experience teaching corporate pilots and flying turboprop aircraft such as the Cessna Conquest I and the Piper Cheyenne I and II. He also holds a Type Certificate for Cessna Citation Jets. George has over 8,000 hours of flight experience and over 3,500 hours of instruction given.

Josh Armbruster - Chief Flight Instructor. Josh is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in Aeronautical Science and a minor in Computer Engineering. With the advancements in GPS and Autopilots he hopes to be able to better understand and equip himself with these two areas of study. After graduation, he decided to not follow the typical career path of flying for the airlines, but devoted his professional talents to training pilots.

Pinnacle Aviation Academy was very fortunate to have Josh join our team as our Chief Instructor. He leads our instructor team with new ideas and teaching methods for our rapidly changing aviation environment. In addition to mentoring students and instructors, Josh provides many of our in-house end-of-course checks or check-rides. Josh has also been hired as a part time instructor in the Aeronautical Sciences department at Palomar Community College, teaching the Private Pilot ground school.

During Josh's free time, he enjoys providing his teaching skills with a small group at his church, Ramona First Congregational. Also, as an Eagle Scout, Josh works with the Boy Scouts of America by providing counseling for the Aviation Merit Badge.

Second: Our staff instructors are not just hired based on their passing an FAA practical test for Certified Flight Instructor. We hire most of our instructors from graduates of our flight instructor program. (We know the type of training they have received.) Additionally, George McJimsey and Josh Armbruster interview each applicant to determine their suitability for employment at Pinnacle Aviation Academy. We are not interested in "time builders". Sure, most instructors are building time as they teach so they can be eligible for other jobs in aviation. We are interested in instructors who will be professional teachers while on the way to other aviation jobs. Once George and Josh have determined the applicant is acceptable, they move on to several other stages of the interview including, ground school teaching ability, flight teaching ability and instrument flight proficiency. Instructor applicants with the desire and talent to teach are then considered for employment.

Third: Once an instructor is on staff, they are "mentored" by the management team to insure each student receives quality instruction even from a relatively new instructor. All instructors attend regular training sessions in which emphasis is placed on safety teaching technique and standardization.