Award winners

For its latest awards cycle, AOPA continued its application-based review system. Aspiring pilots and seasoned aviators alike were invited to submit feedback and share their experiences from the past 12 months, which were evaluated anonymously to determine the regional winners of the 2026 awards.

The awards, administered by the AOPA Foundation, were created to recognize and promote best practices.

The awards are part of a broader effort to welcome new pilots into aviation and keep them engaged throughout their training and beyond. National award recipients were announced March 4 during Redbird Migration in Lakeland, Florida.

2026 AOPA Flight Training Experience Award Winners

BEST INSTRUCTOR – NATIONAL

Tiziano Bernard, Pooler, Georgia

For the second year in a row, the top CFI in our Flight Training Experience Awards is Tiziano Bernard of Georgia. For Bernard, aviation is not just about flying; it’s about making connections, striving to be better, and fostering a community of pilots. His commitment to student mentorship and excellence captures the essence all great flight instructors possess, and rather than viewing his role as simply a source of knowledge and skills, he embraces it as an opportunity to shape the future of aviation through the students he teaches. Ultimately, he says, it is the students who make his journey so rewarding.

DISTINGUISHED INSTRUCTORS BY REGION

Central Southern

Laurence Abernathy (76F)
Abhi Agarwal (DTO)
Savannah Baker (T82)
Alexandra Brejnik (DWH)
Matthew Buxton (HUA)
Royce Howley (DWH)
Blair Jones (DTO)
Nicolas Moxcey (DWH)
Derin Reinke (DWH)
Brian Rose (DWH)
Sylwester Serelko (DWH)
Daniel Wiese (RBD)
David Wright (DWH)
John Zimmerman (DWH)

Eastern

Robert Berlyn (SFZ)
Basit Bukhari (HEF)
Kelli W. Canup (ILM)
Ashley Conway (2GC)
Joshua Delaney (2GC)
Maddy Dutton (JYO)
Eesha Ellahi (JYO)
Brenda Garcia (OKV)
Charles Garity (JYO)
Probir Goyal (JYO)
Declan Hickton (JYO)
Brandon Hoertsch (HEF)
Scott Kelly (HEF)
John Knapp (RMN)
Elias Kontanis (HEF)
Krish Krithivasan (JYO)
Larry Levin (SFZ)
Zoe Mahoney (SFZ)
Sebastian Massimini (W29)
Griffin McDowell (JYO)
Christopher Miller (JYO)
Madison Nugent (JYO)
Kenneth Solosky (FRG)
Alex Tudor (RDU)
Sungchan Wang (HEF)
Anthony Wright (HEF)

Great Lakes

Charles Allen (RYV)
Peg (Margaret HL) Ballou (17G)
Richard Blamer (7G8)
Ernest Boys (3CK)
Maxwell Dalby (3CK)
Anthony Greco (3CK)
Kelly Koeller (3CK)
Ethan Meisenburg (DPA)
Jake Popovich (3CK)
Nina Ricciardi (3CK)

Pacific

Simon Jones (TOA)
Dmitriy Kosovskiy (PAO)
Pedro Millikan (APC)
Mikayla Murphy (APC)
John O’Leary (PAO)
Campbell Potter (APC)
Nick Schuttish (APC)
Michael Smith (APC)
Samuel Tarrel (7S3)
Kevin Wong (WVI)

Southern

Taegoon Bae (DAB)
Kurt Belsten (MLB)
Rafael Dubena (DAB)
Lenny Gartenberg (TIX)
Jorge Gonzalez (TMB)
Anthony Henderson (WDR)
Barry Loomis (LNA)
Collin McDonald (M54)
Stefano Santonico (F45)
Logan Yoon (SYI)

Western

Dawn Cook (BJI)
Don Hendrickson (HLN)
Jacob Peery (FFZ)
Milne “CC” Pocock (1L4)
Thomas Sando (XWA)
Jake Strong (BTM)
Benjamin Zapalac (APA)

DISTINGUISHED FLIGHT SCHOOLS BY REGION

Central Southern

Airplanes & Attitude Flight School (TKI)
Bird Dog Flight Services (T67)
Black Hound Aviation (HYI)
Code 1 Flight Training (76F)
Future Flyers of Iowa (3Y3)
In The Pattern Flight School (DTO)
Pegasus Flight School (PWG)
Pilot Rise, LLC (T67)
Thrust Flight (ADS)
Tulsa Aviation Group, LLC (GCM)
U.S. Flight Co. (DSM)
Vertical Vision Flight Academy (DSM)

Eastern

Air Fleet Training Systems Inc. (CDW)
Air Ventures Flying School (SFZ)
Aviation Adventures–Manassas (HEF)
Avier Flight School (BVY)
Cape Fear Aviation Flight Training (2GC)
Centerline Aviation Services LLC (IPJ)
Chesapeake Sport Pilot (W29)
East Coast Aero Club, Inc.–Norwood (OWD)
FCA Flight Center, Inc. (FIT)
High Tide Aviation (SUT)
Mil2ATP, Inc. (GWW)
Pilot in Training Flight Academy (GAI)

Great Lakes

Blue Skies Flying Services, Inc. (3CK)
High Flight Academy (BTP)
Keystone Aviation Group (N79)

Pacific

14DAYPILOT Flight Academy, LLC. (VNY)
DuBois Aviation (CNO)
Next Level Tailwheel (PAO)

Southern

Aamro Aviation (F45)
Atlas Aviation (TPF)
Aviator Zone Academy (TMB)
D&J Aviation (SFB)
D&J Aviation (X04)
First Landings Aviation (X04)
Hawkins Flight Academy (SYI)
Jumpers Away (GMU)
Kingsky Flight Academy (LAL)
Melbourne Flight Training (MLB)
Tennessee Flight Training (BNA)
USAeroFlight, LLC (GMU)
Sun City Aviation Academy (HWO)

Western

Arizona Flight Training Center (GEU)
AV8 Flight School (FCM)
Barnstormers Aviation (BJI)
Bush Air (1L4)
Chennault Flying Service (VGT)
Fargo Jet Center (FAR)
IFLY Pilot Training (AVQ)
Leopard Aviation (FFZ)
Rocky Mountain USSF Flight Training Center/Aero (COS)