INSTRUCTOR PROFILES
Trade Winds Aviation prides itself on hiring only the most professional, well trained, and safest flight instructors for our flight school. The flight training staff consist of full and part time instructors and includes airline and corporate pilots, aircraft mechanics, and airplane owners just to name a few.
Several of our instructors are multi-lingual and all combined our staff has taught hundreds of students how to fly and logged thousands of instructional flight lesson hours. While all of our instructors will provide you with professional training, due to the diverse nature of our staff's experience and knowledge, we classify our instructors into different categories as outlined below. So whether you need a high performance endorsement for your new Cessna Skylane, or an instrument profiency check, or this is your first time in an airplane - Trade Winds has the right instructor for your needs.
| Senior II Flight Instructors |
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Ken Maples
Title: Senior II Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI, CFII Profile: Ken is the Chief Flight Instructor and a full-time instructor for Trade Winds Aviation. Ken lives in Cupertino and is retired from the semiconductor industry. He has been flying out of Reid-Hillview since 1987 and owns a Cessna Turbo 210 that is based at RHV. Ken obtained his private pilot's license in 1973 and has over 3,000 hours of flying experience. He is an instrument instructor and has been teaching since Oct. 2004. |
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Jamie Fernandez
Title: Senior II Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI, CFII, MEI, API Profile: Jamie has extensive experience as a professional pilot and as a flight instructor at Trade Winds Aviation. He is eager to see his students succeed. His specialty is multi-engine training for advanced pilots. |
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Cecil Chapman Title: Senior II Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI Profile: Cecil is an instructor with an FAA Gold Seal. He has given over 3,000 hours of instruction and is devoted to full-time, high-quality flight training, for the benefit of his students. |
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Aaron Bell Title: Senior II Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI, CFII, MEI Profile: Aaron has a desire to become a captain at some point in his aviation career. He flies a King Air from time to time to gain experience in larger aircraft. His student pilots like his friendly and professional style and enjoy flying with him. |
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Frank Kunzfeld
Certificates: CFI, CFII, MEI, API Profile: Frank is a part-time instructor who lives in San Jose, has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from SCU, and also flies for NetJets. He has had his CFI certification since 2000 and is one of Trade Wind Aviation's five stage check pilots. |
| Senior Flight Instructors |
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John Nauman Title: Senior Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI, CFII, MEI Profile: John has extensive experience in teaching student pilots to earn their wings. He has given over 3,000 hours of instruction and is open to teach Private, Instrument, Commercial and/or CFI students. |
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Seth Howell Title: Senior Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI CFII Profile: Seth received his training out of the Reid-Hillview airport. As a CFI/CFII he has given over 1,700 hours of instruction in a variety of aircraft ranging from light sports to the C400. He is committed to providing a fun and safe learning environment. Whether you want to take your first introductory flight, expand to instrument training, or work toward the completion of your commercial certificate, Seth is excited to help you succeed! |
| Advanced Flight Instructors |
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Larry Mudter Title: Advanced Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI, CFII Profile: Larry has given wings to many students over the years. His passion for flying is evident as he teaching other the art and science of flight. He is an avid pilot and instructor and looks forward to training new students at Trade Winds Aviation. |
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Angela Brandini Title: Advanced Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI Profile: Angela graduated from San Diego Christian College with a Bachelors of Science in Aviation. She has since earned her Advanced Ground Instructor certificate and her Flight Instructor Certificate at Tradewinds Aviation and is excited to continue providing excellent training. She is certified to instruct in single-engine aircraft, land and sea. Angela, like the other Tradewinds instructors, is dedicated to safety and professional training. |
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Josh Heinze Title: Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI Profile: Josh is a graduate of San Jose State's Aviation program, and earned all of his pilot ratings from Tradewinds Aviation. Josh is dedicated to passing on his knowledge and love of flying to future pilots. He is happy to go flying any time you want to experience the freedom of flight. |
| Flight Instructors |
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Mark Guerrero Title: Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI Profile: Mark is a very experienced pilot and an enthusiastic instructor. He is currently a student at San Jose State University and is studying to earn a degree in the engineering field. He is very motivated to pass on his knowledge to future pilots. |
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Rocky Kabotsky Title: Flight Instructor Certifications: CFI Profile: Rocky earned all of his pilot ratings from Tradewinds Aviation. He is dedicated to passing on his knowledge and love of flying to future pilots. He is happy to go flying any time you want to experience the freedom of flight. |
