App built for pilots seeking well-suited CFIs
It began with a discovery flight. Jess Ellwanger’s interest in aviation blossomed when his father sent him aloft as a gift for his fourteenth birthday. From there he continued training through high school, passed his checkride at 18, and moved on to instrument and commercial ratings. It was not until he became a CFI in 2020, though, that came to appreciate the importance of pairing compatible students and instructors.
Ellwanger said he was instructing in California when he met two student pilots “who were about to quit” because they were disillusioned with their training experience. As he spoke with them at length, he said, he realized the problem was likely due to conflicts in personality and learning styles between them and their instructors.
“That is why I built this tool to help instructors get their names out there,” Ellwanger said. For students, the app makes it easier to see their options and increases the likelihood that they will find an instructor who is a good fit. “You have a little more power when you can view and compare instructors before meeting them. A flight instructor who understands how you learn best and adapts the lessons accordingly can help students learn more quickly and with greater confidence and skill.”
Ellwanger said Lima Flight’s initial success encouraged him to expand its options to include showing the availability of designated pilot examiners and aviation mechanics, both of which can be hard to find when pilots need checkrides or to repair grounded aircraft.
Ellwanger said he appreciates the challenges involved in getting pilots together with DPEs and mechanics, but feels there is “so much local knowledge” that he can tap to help. Just getting DPEs to reveal “generally how available they are” would be helpful for instructors and students trying to coordinate checkrides.
The app (available in the App Store and Google Play) also reflects Ellwanger’s wish to make a career as a CFI, at least for now, because he enjoys it. “I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do,” he said, while noting that instructing has been a particularly rewarding job for him and that he is not building time for an eventual airline job.
“I was never like, yeah, I’m going to fly for Delta.”
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