About Me

I began my aviation journey with my first flying lesson in 1982, earning my Private Pilot license in 1984. By 1987, I embarked on a career as a full-time flight instructor and developed the Emergency Maneuver Training (EMT) Program. In 2001, I became the country’s first Master CFI-Aerobatics and served on the Master Instructors LLC Board of Review.

I was named the 2006 National Flight Instructor of the Year and the 2014 National FAASTeam Rep of the Year. As a Charter and Life Member of SAFE, I have also dedicated more than two decades to aviation-themed STEM outreach, fostering a new generation of passionate aviators.
  • PARE® – The Emergency Spin Recovery Procedure, 1990
  • Emergency Maneuver Training, 1996; translated into Japanese, 2001 and Chinese, 2023; Australian Edition, 2024
  • Light Airplane Pilot’s Guide to Stall/Spin Awareness, 2007; Australian Edition, 2024
  • Learn to Turn program, 2021
  • The Nine Principles of Light Airplane Flying, 2022
 
 
 
 
  • Getting Ready for Spins…
  • Stall/Spin Awareness
  • Emergency Maneuver Training
  • Basic Aerobatics
  • Loss of Aircraft Control: Avoiding Spins, 2000
  • Loss of Aircraft Control: Avoiding Upsets, 2001
  • Loss of Aircraft Control: Avoiding Spatial Disorientation, 2002
  • Created the Aviation Learning Center channel on Youtube in 2009
  • Scripted and flew the Teachable Moment, “Spins from Botched Hammerheads in a Pitts” for IAC
  • StuntMasters TV show
  • MSNBC’s “Airshows – Flying on the Edge”
  • FX’s “Hurt Bert”
  • Discovery Channel’s “Is It True?”
  • Interviewed on numerous aviation radio and podcast programs over the years
  • Authored more than 80 articles published in various aviation magazines & newsletters
  • Conducted over 450 aviation-related seminars/webinars
  • Created more than a dozen core topic PowerPoint presentations
  • Created the “Maneuvering at Low Altitude: Spins” CFI Forum for SAFE and the FAASTeam
  • Conducted hands-on training clinics and seminars in 22 States stretching from Alaska to Florida, California to Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia. Internationally: Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand
  • Conducted live spin training demonstrations during Sun-n-Fun in 1992
  • Developed the Aerobatic Instructor Designation Program (a derivative of the Master Instructor Program) in 2006
  • Developed the Emergency Maneuver Training (EMT) Program in 1987
  • Training Course Outline for the EMT Program approved under Part 141 in 1994
  • EMT Program Modules I, II, & III recognized by the FAA as approved courses under the Wings Program
  • Registered Trademarks: PARE (spin recovery acronym)
  • Other Trademarks: EMT; The Learn to Aviate Series; Separation + Elevation (wake turbulence avoidance strategy); Speed – Spot – Set-up (hierarchy following an engine failure); Power – Push – Roll (recovery strategy for spirals & other banked upsets); Learn to Turn; Airpseed + G-load = Curved Flight

Spin Resume

Rich estimates that he has performed over 35,000 spins of one turn or more (traveling the equivalent of almost 1,700 vertical miles while spinning!) in 240+ single-engine airplanes, representing the following types:

Low-Wing Aircraft

Beech E33C
Beech T-34 Mentor
Chipmunk DHC-1B
Micco SP-26A
Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee
Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk
Vultee BT-13

Experimental/Homebuilt
Alpi Microlight Jay Hawk
Furio LN-27RG
Giles G-202
MX Technologies MX-2
RV-6, -6A, -7, & -8
Russian Yak-52 & -54

Foreign-Built
Austrian Diamond DA20 Katana
Bavarian Grob G115 C1
Canadian DHC-1B Chipmunk
Czechoslovakian Zlin 142 & 242
German Extra 300 & 300L
Italian Siai Marchetti SF260
Japanese AeroSubaru FA-200
Scottish Aviation Bulldog 120
Swiss FFA AS 202 Bravo

High-Wing Aircraft

Bolkow Junior
Cessna 150, A150, 152, & A152
Cessna 172
Cessna 177B Cardinal
Cessna T-41
Citabria 7ECA, 7GCAA, 7GCBC, & 7KCAB
Decathlon 8KCAB (Standard, CS, Super, & Extreme)
Piper J-3 Cub
Piper PA-18 Super Cub

Biplanes

Boeing Stearman (220 hp Continental & 300 hp Lycoming)
DeHavilland Tiger Moth
Great Lakes 2T-1A-2
Pitts S-1S, S-2A, S-2B, S-2C
Waco YMF-5

Experimental/Homebuilt
Akro Sport II
Christen Eagle II
Great Lakes 2T-1A-K
Pitts S-1
Starduster, Skybolt
Wichawk

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