In March, Master Instructors designated its next class of Ten-Time Masters. The achievement marks 20 years of participation in the Master Instructor Continuing Education Program (MICEP).
Three instructors make up this second group to reach the 10-time milestone: David Faile of Fairfield, Connecticut; Lonnie Hilkemeier of Boulder, Colorado; and Lou Wipotnik of Wheeling, Illinois.
Faile is an AOPA Airport Support Network (ASN) representative, a FAASTeam representative in the Windsor Locks FSDO area, and the holder of the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. The 1999 National CFI of the Year, he instructs at Bridgeport’s Sikorsky Airport (BDR).
Hilkemeier is the senior flight instructor and president of Specialty Flight Training, a Cessna Pilot Center at Boulder Airport (BDU). Colorado’s first Master Instructor in 1998, he also serves as a FAASTeam representative in the FAA’s Denver FSDO area.
Wipotnik is an independent Chicago-area flight and ground instructor at Chicago Executive Airport (PWK). The holder of an FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot award and the 1996 National CFI of the Year, he is also a FAASTeam representative in the FAA’s DuPage FSDO area and serves in the Civil Air Patrol’s Illinois Wing.
All three are charter members of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) as well.
As a reward for long-term commitment to professional development as aviation educators, Ten-Time Masters receive embroidered MA-1 flight jackets sponsored by PilotMall.com of Lakeland, Florida.
Additionally, Master Instructors commissioned special wings pins reserved exclusively for 10-Time and Emeritus Masters, sponsored by Aviation Instruction of Camarillo, Calif., and Specialty Flight Training of Boulder, Colo.
The names of Ten-Time Masters are also listed on a dedicated page on the Master Instructors website under the menu tab “With Distinction.”