The National Association of Flight Instructors recognizes ATP Flight Instructorswith accreditation as NAFI Master Flight Instructors

Kalamazoo, MI — January 6, 2019

The National Association of Flight Instructors is proud to announce that ATP Flight Instructors Michael “Todd” Shellnut and Jeremy Hand have earned accreditation as NAFI Master Flight Instructors.

Todd Shellnut has been working in the flight training industry for 18 years now, and although he has performed many duties in his field from corporate pilot to FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, he has always found his way back to his true passion of flight instruction. This is Todd's second nomination as a Master CFI, and he also has received other awards such as AOPA's Best Instructor for 2015 and Distinguished Flight Instructor for 2017 and 2018. Todd is a published author of aviation training texts, an active FAASTeam member for the Atlanta FSDO, and is currently working for ATP Flight School as the CFI Academy Standardization Manager where he is responsible for the multiple training locations across the country for CFI initial training.

Jeremy Hand worked to achieve his instrument, multi, and commercial training with ATP Flight School’s Airline Career Pilot Program. His CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings soon followed. He has been instructing for ATP ever since, helping to train students from zero time all the way through commercial and CFI certificates. Hand is now quickly approaching his 1,000th hour of dual given and says he “loves every minute of it!”. For the last year he has been a lead instructor at ATP and conducts many of the stage checks and mock check rides for students as they progress through their training syllabus. During that time, he added AGI and IGI ratings, as well as attaining FAA Gold Seal instructor status. In his spare time, he also pursues volunteer work with Angel Flight and the Boy Scouts of America.

The NAFI Master Flight Instructor Accreditation is earned by aviation educators based upon a system of advanced professional standards and peer review. The accreditation identifies and publicly recognizes those teachers of flight who demonstrate an ongoing commitment to excellence, professional growth, and service to the aviation community.

Congratulations Todd and Jeremy for this achievement!