OUR INSTRUCTORS
|
Jim
|
Jim started flying while he was in college at the University of Illinois, earning his Private Pilot certificate in 1986 and becoming a Certified Flight Instructor in 1987. In college Jim competed on, and coached for, the University’s flight team in both regional and national competitions.
After graduating from the U of I and getting his MBA from Indiana University, he moved East and started a successful career in business. During this time Jim’s flying took a decade long hiatus. In 2006, Jim started focusing on getting back into two areas of passion, flying and photography. He also moved back to the Chicago area and re-started his Flight Instructing career, with Skill Aviation. There isn’t a day that goes by where Jim regrets switching from a desk to a cockpit. The experience of returning to flying after a long hiatus, gives him a unique perspective on those undertaking the same effort. Jim served as Chief Flight Instructor at Skill Aviation from 2009 through 2016. In 2015 he was named one of 11 outstanding flight instructors in the country in the AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards. He was named to the AOPA Honor Roll in 2016, and awarded AOPA Distinguished Flight Instructor in 2017 & 2018. Jim is a certified airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, and multi-engine instructor with over 4,000 hours dual given and 5,000 hours total time. 
|
|
John
|
John is an aviation professional committed to helping his students become safe and knowledgeable pilots. He serves as Skill Aviation's Chief Flight Instructor since 2017. He was awarded the AOPA Distinguished Flight Instructor designation in 2018 and 2019. John also earned his NAFI Master CFI designation in 2019 and 2021. He leverages his experience from leading diverse teams into flight education. He builds on each student's individual background to help them understand aviation concepts.
John earned his Private Pilot certificate in 2014, and became a commercial pilot and flight instructor shortly afterward. He holds a Certified Flight Instructor and Instrument Instructor certificate. Along with instructing, he and his wife particularly appreciate the unique freedom of flying on cross-country trips. They enjoy all the destinations and experiences that flying allows them to discover and enjoy! John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. John designed cell phones and led engineering teams at a major manufacturer before pursuing his interest in Aviation. John's volunteer activities includes the Boy Scouts as an adult leader where he led wilderness backpacking trips, winter camping, and also won outdoor cooking competitions. He is also active in a local amateur radio emergency services organization. 
|
|
Kilian
|
Kilian is a flight instructor with 23 years of flying experience. Kilian learned to fly at Chicago Executive Airport (KPWK) while attending university and has been involved in aviation ever since.
Kilian earned a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University, and holds FAA airline transport pilot, flight instructor, instrument instructor, and multi-engine instructor certificates. He also speaks fluent German. |
|
Sandy
|
Growing up, Sandy spent many hours looking up at the sky, wondering what it would be like to fly a plane. It wasn’t until her sophomore year in college that she decided to take an introductory flight and find out for herself. She immediately fell in love with aviation and began flight training after graduating from college in 1992. Like many pilots, she would occasionally stop training in order to meet the responsibilities of family, work and finances, but never gave up her dream of becoming an instructor. After several years, she completed her training and has been teaching ever since.
Sandy has a degree in psychology from Loyola University in Chicago and has been instructing at Skill Aviation for the last 12 years. She enjoys passing on her love for flying to new students in the hopes of helping them fulfill their dream of becoming a pilot. |
|
Skip
|
Skip is an aviation industry professional adept in the operations and management of aircraft services including maintenance, sales, charter, and flight training. With nearly three decades of general aviation experience, Skip has a unique combination of organizational, technical, sales, and managerial talents.
Skip earned his private pilot certificate while in college in 1986 and has been an active flight instructor since 1988. Skip earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Western Michigan University and a Master of Science Degree from Illinois Institute of Technology. He is an FAA certificated airline transport pilot and flight instructor. As a testament to his character, experience, and integrity, Skip was selected and authorized as an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner in 2007. |
|
Nancy
|
Nancy joined Skill Aviation in Jan 2010 as a dispatcher. Prior to joining Skill Aviation, Nancy proudly served 8 years in the United States Navy, as a Hospital Corpsman. Her distinguished Naval career included being stationed on the now retired aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67).
Nancy earned a Bachelor’s Degree, with honors, from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Technical Operations, Minoring in Aviation Safety. She also earned her Private Pilot Certificate in Jacksonville, FL. |
|
Chris
|
Chris Greene grew up in New England, attending air shows and hearing his dad’s stories of serving as a flight crew chief in the Marines. He wore out his VHS copy of Top Gun and always had a dream of flying. After spending 20 years and earning a bachelors in the field of fine art, Chris took advantage of the opportunity to pursue his passion in aviation. Having trained at Skill, Chris is excited to share his enthusiasm for flying as a CFI. Outside of flying, he enjoys live blues music, art, and having a good laugh.
|
|
Amanda
|
Amanda was born in Cincinnati and grew up in the hills of the Ohio valley. From a young age, she was always determined to explore the world around her with a hunger to find a bigger purpose in life. For a long time, she pursued a career as a teacher but soon realized that the job just didn’t satisfy her need for exploring the world around her. After graduating college with her Bachelors degree and teaching for a short time, Amanda decided to leave behind everything in Ohio for a career in aviation. She began training in 2018 at the Daytona Beach International in Florida ATP location from 0 flight time to 250 hours and finished the program in 11 months. She received her CFI, CFII, MEI, IGI, and holds a Gold Seal Instructor designation as well. In 2019, she began instructing for a 141 approved flight school in Nashville, Tennessee and progressed when she moved to Wisconsin and started working for Skill Aviation in June 2021. She has such a passion for instruction that her goal is to become a DPE and continue passing on her knowledge to new pilots aspiring for safety in flight.
In her spare time when she isn’t flying and teaching ground school, she enjoys singing, painting, and taking care of betta fish and her dog, Cash Bug. She enjoys spending lots of time outdoors, camping, kayaking, and hiking. She is also a published author of two children’s books as well as poetry published in various student journals. |
|
Zachary
CFI/CFII |
Zachary attended Lewis University where he received most of his flight training. Zachary went on to receive both his CFI & CFII out at Northern Colorado Regional Airport in Loveland Colorado. He graduated from Lewis University with his bachelor’s degree in Aviation Flight Management with minors in Aviation Administration and Business Administration. Zachary’s end goal in aviation is to become a commercial airline pilot and when he is not flying he enjoys golfing, running, or rock climbing.
|
|
Jenni
CFI/CFII/MEI |
A few years ago, Jenni was practicing architecture on the southside of Chicago, when she decided to get out from behind the desk and trade it all in for an office in the sky.
Jenni completed her training from zero time to CFI, CFII, MEI, and AGI within the next year and a half at DuPage airport. Joining Skill Aviation in April 2021, she enjoys working with students and her fellow instructors to cultivate future pilots and spread the joy of aviation. Her father, a former Air Force pilot and currently a captain at Southwest Airlines, is ecstatic that there's finally another pilot in the family to discuss weather theories and the complexities of aerodynamics. Jenni has her architecture license and is still designing on the ground. |
|
Brendan
|
Brendan began his flying career in 2017 at Western Michigan University. While attending WMU, Brendan completed his PPL, IRA, CMEL, and CSEL, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Aviation Flight Science. Residing in Chicago, Brendan began his CFI training as Skill Aviation during the summer of 2021 and joined the Skill Team in October later that year.
Brendan plans to continue to pursue additional instructor licenses by obtaining his CFII and MEI. His career goal in aviation is to become an Airline Transport Pilot for one of the leading major airlines. He also plans to one day pursue a hobby in aerobatic flying. When Brendan is not flying, he enjoys following and cheering for his favorite hometown sports teams, the Chicago Bears and Chicago Bulls. |
|
Phil
|
Phil attended Western Michigan University. After going on a tour of the airport and riding backseat on a training flight with a friend, he declared an Aviation major and hasn't regretted it since. Phil completed all his flight training out of Battle Creek Kellogg Airport (KBTL) and graduated with a BS in Aviation Flight Sciences and a minor in Spanish. Phil completed his CFI initial and Instrument instructor training with American Flyers in Pompano Beach, FL. He later accepted a job offer to instruct at Skill Aviation. His end goal is to be a Commercial Airline Pilot with United Airlines.
While not instructing, Phil enjoys traveling and spending time with friends. Phil also enjoys cycling and playing the jazz saxophone in his spare time. |
|
Yanina
|
Yanina was born in Minsk, Belarus and has trained and flown across many states of America: Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, New York, Ohio, and Colorado, as well as Belarus and Mexico.
Becoming a pilot is one of the best decisions she ever made! Besides being a flight instructor, Yanina is also a software engineer, and volunteers by helping her compatriots at home affected by hardship. Yanina dreams of one day flying over the Belavezskaia National Park that borders 3 Eastern European countries and is home to Belarusian bison - the symbol of the country. A fun fact about Yanina: at the age of 17 she twice jumped out of a perfectly functioning AN-2 Colt with a round parachute, and almost joined a professional skydiving team. |
|
Olya
|
After graduating college with a degree in Foreign Languages, Olya started working for a global freight forwarding company in 2010. Part of her job included flying jumpseat on cargo 747s to oversee large scale projects, which quickly became her favorite part of the job. Shortly after, she began flight training at Skill and never looked back.
Olya earned her Private in February of 2021 and completed CFI and CFII at Northern Colorado Regional Airport, almost exactly a year to the day, in February of 2022. She currently holds CFI, CFII, AGI, IGI, and plans to complete her MEI later this year. Her brother is a 777 captain for a cargo airline as well, so the passion definitely runs in the family! Her ultimate goal is to fly alongside her brother one day for one of the major airlines. |
|
Colin
|
Colin grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. He graduated Boise State University in 2017 with a degree in education. After college he went on to become a Flight Attendant at American Airlines.
Colin knew that aviation was his passion and decided to further his career. He started flight training in KFLD where he got his private. He then went to KDPA to get his Instrument Rating and Commercial Single and Multi Certificate. The last step on his training adventure was his CFI at Skill. Colin plans to continue his flight training and get his CFII and MEI. His career goal is to eventually get back to the major airlines and travel the world. |
|
Dominic
CFI |
Dominic began his flight training following an aerobatic introductory flight that pushed his life long interest in aerospace and aviation to the next level. After flying on the side for a few years, Dominic decided to pursue flying as a career, taking an indefinite leave of absence from software engineering. Dominic continues to pursue his passion of aerobatic flying, which started this amazing journey. Dominic holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University
|
|
Patrick
|
Patrick started instructing at Skill Aviation in June of 2013 after graduating from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with his CFI and A&P. Currently, Patrick also works for the Warbird Heritage Foundation as a mechanic.
He is currently training for his CFII and MEI. In his free time he enjoys mountain biking, dirt biking and restoring his 1972 Triumph Trophy. |
