Our Seminar Instructors

Bruce Belgum

Bruce Belgum has 40 years of aviation experience, including charter pilot, corporate pilot and airline pilot. His credentials include: ATP, CFII-MEI, and 12,000 hrs of flying. He lived in Alaska for 15 years where he taught “Bush Pilot” flying. Bruce became an Aviation Safety Inspector for the FAA and subsequently part of their aviation safety “FAASTeam”. He retired from the FAA on May 31, 2011.

Pat Brown

Pat is AOPA’s Texas You Can Fly Ambassador. He was bitten by the flying bug early, and began taking lessons at age 16, earning his Private Pilot license shortly after his 17th birthday. Today, nearly 9000 hours later, he holds a Commercial Pilot certificate for Gliders, Single-Engine Land/Sea and Multi-Engine Land aircraft and is a Gold Seal Flight Instructor for gliders, single and multi-engine aircraft and seaplane, with over 5500 hours of instruction given. Pat is the co-developer of AOPA’s Rusty Pilot seminar, travels the country speaking to pilot groups as a Safety Seminar Presenter for the Air Safety Institute, and has conducted Flight Instructor Refresher Clinics nationwide.

Cindy Carter

Originally from Pueblo, Colorado, Cindy Carter has been a full time flight instructor in Western North Carolina since moving there in 1998 logging more than 2500 hours instructing. She is an active member of the Western North Carolina Pilots Association serving as president for five years and program chairman for four years. She was instrumental in forming the WNC Pilots Association Education Fund in 2010 which helps a deserving student pilot reach their aviation goals by providing financial support. She taught Private pilot ground school for 10 years at Asheville Buncombe Technical College and is an active member of the FAASTeam. Cindy was named FAASTeam rep of the year for the state of North Carolina in 2014.

Tom Curran

Tom started flying at Seattle’s Boeing Field in 1978 and holds ATP, CFII/MEI, and float ratings. His early exploits included instructing in Florida and Alaska. After college, he helped produce Alaska’s first Aviation System Plan and several airport master plans. Tom later joined the USAF and served as an Instructor and Evaluator pilot in the F-15C and B-1B. His adventures included tours in Alaska, Europe, Japan, and Southwest Asia. His “day jobs” included Commander of a B-1B squadron, Director of a NATO Air Operations Center, and Deputy Director of the DoD‘s Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence. His credentials include degrees from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida Institute of Technology. Tom lives in Gig Harbor, WA, and WILL fly for food!

Steve Frahm

Steve Frahm learned to fly at Midway Airport in Chicago in 1977. He is a CFI-I with the Fort Meade Flying Activity in Maryland. Steve has given more than 1,000 hours of dual instruction to students training for certificates at all levels—from zero-time primary students, to highly experienced pilots training to become flight instructors. In addition, Steve has worked with military aviators, transitioning them to also fly general aviation. Steve is both land and seaplane rated, and his logbook reflects having flown more than 30 different aircraft models.

Steve has been traveling around the United States as an Air Safety Institute Safety Seminar presenter for seven years. Since retiring as a senior official and attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011, Steve is happily devoting more time than ever to flying, instructing, and presenting safety seminars.

Mark Grady

Mark Grady has over 6,500 hours in a Cessna 152! He logged those hours during his decade as a traffic watch/pilot reporter for WRAL-FM in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has also flown other aircraft ranging from a Cessna 441 to the Blockbuster Video Blimp.

Mark has been presenting seminars for the Air Safety Institute for well over a decade. He is a member of the Aviation Speakers Bureau and was named North Carolina’s Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year in 1998 by the FAA. He is also the author of two books and a filmmaker.

Jeanné Willerth

Jeanné Willerth is a Master CFI who provides single and multi-engine training in the Kansas City area. She was named the 2015 “CFI of the Year” for both the Kansas City Flight Standards District and the FAA’s Central Region. Jeanné was the 2012 “National FAASTeam Rep of the Year”. She is an ATP and holds CFI-A, CFI-I, MEI, IGI, and AGI certificates. Jeanné is active in the Ninety-Nines, SAFE, and the Missouri Pilots Association. She volunteers for Angel Flight Central, Challenge Air, LifeLine Pilots and Young Eagles. Jeanné holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees in mathematics.