16 minute read
2025 Speaker Line up
Bruce Williams
SAT, FEB 22 @ 10:30 AM | KEYNOTE
Mastering Your New Avionics: Techniques to help you learn and stay ahead of glass and hybrid panels.
SUN, FEB 23 @ 11:30 AM | KEYNOTE
Sipping Information from the Right Glass: Customizing your panel and EFB displays.Aviation author, Bruce Williams (CFII, FAASTeam), is the owner of BruceAir, LLC, an aviation consulting, training, and pilot-services company based in Seattle. A pilot since the early 1970s, and he is a certified flight instructor and FAASTeam representative. Today, Bruce focuses on training in technically advanced aircraft, the Beechcraft Bonanza series, and stall/spin/upset recovery courses in aerobatic aircraft. During a 15-year career at Microsoft, Bruce worked on six versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. In the 1980s, he edited the Western Flyer (now the General Aviation News). Bruce is also the author of two books about using PC-based simulation to complement flight training, plus many features on a variety of topics for aviation-focused periodicals. Bruce publishes an aviation blog at BruceAir.
Bruce Williams is a regular speaker at the Northwest Aviation Conference and we value his committment to the event and our attendees.
Tom Rogers
SAT, FEB 22 @ 10:30 AM | PIONEER SUN, FEB 23 @ 11:30 AM | PIONEER
Non-Towered Airport OperationsMuch has changed in recently regarding non-towered airport operations. Discussion on current regulations and practices, and review the non-towered pattern, including entries, exits, and right of way. Tom will wrap it up with his suggestions for keeping safe in a busy pattern.
Tom is a retired Alaska Airlines Captain and Retired AF F-15 Four-ship flight lead and instructor. Currently Tom teaches tailwheel instruction, CFI candidate spin training, Upset Prevention and Recovery training and a basic aerobatic course at Olde Thyme Aviation, Bremerton. He is also a skilled Stearman Waco Bi-plane. and AT-6 pilot. as well being a National Association of Flight Instructors Master CFI, recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot award, and an FAA Safety Team Representative.
John Swedburg
John Swedburg has been an active flight instructor since 1974. In 2014 he retired from full time flight instruction at the commercial pilot flight training program at Big Bend Community College. John continues to share his love of aviation and teaching at various education events including managing and presenting at the Northwest Aviation Career Forum each year. John holds an ATP SMEL, a Commercial SES; CFI-ASME&I, A&IGI; and 107 Remote Pilot. He has over 16,000 hours of instruction given, and has taught in 58 FIRCs in the Seattle area. His aviation career has included responsibilities as a flight instructor, ground instructor, chief flight instructor, Aviation Division Chairman, Airman Certification Representative, Aviation Safety Counselor, and FAASTeam representative.
Swedburg is the pivotal force behind the success of the Aviation Career Forum at the NWAC. John is pasionate about teaching and sharing access to aviation careers to all. Along with his Weight and Balance seminars each afternoon, Swedburg will be leading the student career workshop each day in which he makes himself readily accessible to students and educators. Thank you, John!
SAT, FEB 22 @ 9:30 AM | SOUTH FOYER SUN, FEB 23 @ 10:30 AM | SOUTH FOYERSwedburgIntroduction to Aviation Career Interactive workshop overview of aviation, careers, piloting and paths to aviation.
SAT @ 4:30 PM | SUN @ 2:30 PMSwedburgPractical importance of Weight and Balance
Trevor Moody
Trevor Moody has been a Command Pilot with Angel Flight West since 2014. He received his private pilot certificate in 2008 and since then has gone on to get his instrument rating, commercial single and multiengine, and advanced ground instructor certificates.The focus of his seminar (along with Ricardo Lagos) will be to provide an overview of volunteer flying with Angel Flight West. The Pacific Northwest is a particularly busy region for Angel Flight West in part due to major healthcare facilities in Seattle.
Keynote Presentations
JOLIE LUCAS
Jolie Lucas learned to fly in the Pacific Northwest and now makes her home on the Central Coast of California with her mini-Golden, Mooney. Jolie is a Mooney owner, licensed psychotherapist, and instrument-rated commercial pilot. Jolie is a nationally-known aviation speaker, educator, and aviation writer. Jolie has been a practicing licensed psychotherapist for 33 years. She co-founded Right Seat Ready! companion safety seminar and founded Pilot Plus One weekend safety seminar. She is the Vice President of the California Pilots Association. She is the 2010 AOPA Joseph Crotti Award recipient for GA Advocacy.
INTO THE ALLIGATOR’S MOUTH
Saturday & Sunday, Keynote areaPsychology of Personal Flight Minimums Learn about the psychology of decision-making and developing personal guidelines for your flying. Lucas created safety seminar after interviewing thirteen pilots from 250 hours to 25,000 hours, reviewing how they developed personal flight guides in the airplane. This fast paced, multimedia presentationincludes door prizes from Lightspeed Aviation, King Schools, LIFT Aviation, Pilot Safety.Org, Avemco, METAR Maps, and Flying Eyes Optics. Come join the discussion and add a level of comfort and safety to your flying.
CECILIA ARAGON
Aragon is an award-winning author, airshow pilot, and the first Latina to earn the rank of Full Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington in its 100-year history. She’s worked with Nobel Prize winners and has taught astronauts to fly. Her innovative research, and a stint at NASA designing software for Mars missions, led President Obama to call her “one of the top scientists and engineers in the country.”
In addition to her love of math and science, she’s passionate about helping others face their own fears and challenges to achieve their goals.
Her award-winning memoir, Flying Free (2020), shares her journey of breaking past her own fears to become a champion aerobatic pilot. It debuted on five bestseller lists and is a TODAY Show and Hip Latina Recommended Read.
Her 2019 book, Writers in the Secret Garden, takes a close look at the fascinating world of fanfiction to explore how young people express themselves. Her latest book, Human-Centered Data Science (2022), is an accessible guide to best practices for addressing bias and inequality in data science and artificial intelligence.
Presentation
DANCING WITH GRAVITY: Essential Spin Training Skills
ARAGON | FEB 23 @ 2:30 PM | KEYNOTE
This presentation explores the critical elements of aircraft spin training, combining aerodynamic theory with practical recovery techniques. We’ll examine the physics behind spin development, including the roles of yaw, angle of attack, and asymmetric lift distribution.
Participants will learn to identify the four stages of a spin and understand the differences between incipient, accelerated, and flat spins. Through analysis of case studies, we’ll demonstrate proven recovery methods and common pitfalls to avoid. Special emphasis will be placed on recognition and prevention strategies, ensuring pilots develop both the knowledge and confidence to handle these challenging flight regimes safely.
DARREN PLEASANCE
Darren Pleasance is president and chief executive officer of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)—the largest aviation community in the world representing hundreds of thousands of pilots.
Pleasance has over 8,000 flight hours in more than 80 different types of aircraft ranging from simple trainers to business jets to vintage warbirds, including a P-51 Mustang. Early in his career he flew as a corporate pilot, working for celebrities such as John Travolta before going on to fly charters in the Alaskan bush.
He left professional aviation to pursue a career in business, but he never stopped flying. Today he owns and operates a Piper Meridian, a Vans RV-6, and a SeaRey floatplane while keeping currency as a certificated flight instructor.
Prior to joining AOPA this year, he led Cisco’s Acceleration Center. Prior to Cisco, he led global acquisitions for Google and served as a partner in consulting firm McKinsey & Co.’s high tech sector and marketing and sales practice. Throughout this, Pleasance has remained active in aviation, serving for many years on the board of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).
Pleasance holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
AOPA Pilot Town Hall
SAT, FEB 22 @ 1:00 PM | KEYNOTE STAGE
Meet Darren Pleasance, the new president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association. Darren will provide an update on the current trends and issues facing general aviation in the region and across the country, including airport issues, the transition to unleaded fuel, and what a changing political landscape could mean for GA.
PHILIP MANDEL
Mandel had no idea flying could be affordable for someone with an average income, or possible for someone with an IQ under 200 –until he met a pilot, just a “regular guy” with an average job, who flew for fun and owned a Mooney. The very next day, Phil drove to his local flight school and signed up for lessons. The bug bit so deeply that sometimes he went for two or even three flight lessons per day! That was back in 1981. He earned his Private Pilot certificate, followed by an Instrument rating, Commercial Pilot certificate, CFI, CFI-I, and MEI certificates. Through the years he has owned nine different airplanes. Now a “recovering engineer,” Phil is an independent flight instructor based in the Portland, Oregon area.
Checklists: So Basic Yet So Misused
Mandel | FEB 22 @ 9:30 AM | Keynote Stage Checklist, schmecklist, what’s the big deal? Read, Execute, Move On. Not so fast, grasshopper. Accident data reveals that during the period 1983-1993, some 279 aircraft accidents occurred in which a checklist was improperly used or not used at all. A review of NASA ASRS checklistrelated reports for 2003 suggests that many of the same errors identified by the FAA and NTSB continue to be reported. Let’s do better!
Power Loss at 300 Feet
Mandel | FEB 22 @ 1 PM | Heritage Room Philip and his primary student lost all engine oil and experienced significant power loss at 300 feet AGL over Vancouver, WA, off Pearson Field (KVUO) in 2019. With the help of dashcam video that captured the event, Philip will share lessons learned from the scariest two minutes of his life. He says he did more things wrong than right, yet still managed to nurse the Beech Musketeer back to the field and land opposite direction without bending anything.
10 Ways To Be 10 Times Safer
Mandel | FEB 22 @ 3:30 PM | Heritage Room
This seminar will review ten common ways pilots get themselves in trouble and systematically discuss what we can do to mitigate each of those risks. It will make you think, it will make you humble, and it will make you modest.
MIKE KLOTCH
CEO and Chief Instructor Pilot for Specialized Aero Works, Mike teaches UPRT, aerobatics & formations flying. A Master CFI - Aerobatic (MCFI-A), Klotch is a former Marine Corps F/A18 pilot, combat veteran, and school trained Aviation Safety Officer (Naval Postgraduate School). Mike is also a test pilot and instructor for Epic Aircraft, a two-time NAFI Master CFI/CFII/MEI and an FAA Safety Team Representative. Mike has a Bachelors of Science degree from Oregon State University.
WAYNE MCGHEE
An instrument rated private pilot, Wayne is the Northwest Regional Sales Manager for Garmin with decades of experience working for avionics manufacturers. Wayne is an annual speaker at the NW Aviation Conference and an authority on updates on avionics. McGhee speaks at 9:30 AM SAT.
KARLENE PETITT
Karlene Petitt is an international airline pilot, retired Delta Captain, author, pilot advocate and aviation safety subject matter expert, who lives in Seattle Washington with her husband. She holds two masters degrees, and a PHD in Aviation Safety from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Her research identified concerns with safety culture and pilot training worldwide which is impacting pilot performance and operational safety.
Karlene is type rated: in B747-400, 747-200, 777, 767, 757, 737, 727, A350, A330. Karlene will be speaking Saturday at 3:30 PM but you can catch her all weekend long and get signed copies of her books at Booths #124125 near the front of the hall.
It’s Time to Write your Story!
FEB 22 @ 3:30 PM | Pioneer Room
You’ve lived a life worth sharing, now it’s time to put your adventures into words. Aviation author, Karlene Petitt is a retired airline captain who holds eight type ratings and multiple degrees to include a PhD. She has written children’s books, motivation/inspiration, a series of aviation thrillers based on more truth than fiction and has authored non-fiction works to include aviation safety and a legal book. As a student of writing and publishing, she will share her knowledge and experiences, as well as answer all your questions on how to start, what to write, how to put your story on paper, distinguish the difference between genres, and answer your publishing questions. Writing is the best therapy for whatever haunts you and leaves a legacy to your life. It’s time to start. You will also learn how to win a Mitsubishi Spider Eclipse in her giveaway.
BILL MCGLYNN
Bill McGlynn has been a part of the RAF since 2010 and President since 2018. He retired from a career in the computer industry in 2013, where he worked for Hewlett-Packard for 24 years. He became a pilot in 1995 and currently flies a backcountry 182. He and his wife Julie live in Leavenworth, where they enjoy being near their grandkids.
Saving Special Places
SAT, FEB 22 @ 2:15 PM | Pioneer Room
Bill will be speaking on Saving Special Places with the Recreational Aviation Foundation. The nonprofit Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) preserves, improves and creates airstrips for recreational access. Learn about the RAF’s recent efforts to preserve special places across the US, including work to reopen Cypress Island airstrip.
CURT SCOTT
Curt Scott has 60 plus years and 5000 plus flight hours flying and holds CP, CFI, AGI & ATC Ratings. Curt flew Air Force C130 and MC 130 and T29D aircraft and was an instructor pilot in advanced jet phase of AF UPT, and is a former member of Green River College Aviation Department. A long time member of the Aviation Career Education Service, which has taught over 20,000 students about the basics of aviation, Curt has owned a Cessna Cardinal for 10 years
Scott is a former Air Force air traffic controller and was Chief of ATC Operations at Holloman AFB and Mt Home AFB. He is a current member of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Washington Pilot’s Association and West Sound Pilot’s Association.
Pilot Refresher Workshop
Curt Scott, Scott Consulting/Scott Aviation, pilot, former Professor of Aviation, Green River College
Feeling like your flying skills could use a refresher? Veteran pilot, Curt Scott will help you brush off the dust! With over 5000 hours teaching flying and flying in the Northwest, Curt presents a fast-paced dynamic presentation on VFR flying basics, including weather, charts, airport approach, landing, checklists and much more to make you a more confident pilot.
Limited seating in this VFR Pilot refresher clinic. There is no additional charge to attend but we encourage you to register online to be assured a seat at this emcompassing workshop!
SHAWN PRATT
Shawn Pratt grew up in Sitka where he got his first taste of the freedom of general aviation. Shawn has flown in and around the Appalachian, Rocky, Cascade, Olympic, and Sierra mountains, as well as Alaska. Shawn has additionally flown a number of small aircraft across the country through challenging terrain and weather conditions developing his passion for mountain flight. Shawn is the Director of Operations/ Chief Pilot at Safety in Motion Flight Center. He holds ATP, CFI Gold Seal, and AGI certificates, manages two flight schools and FBOs, and additionally working as a charter and corporate pilot.
Visit with Shawn and Safety in Motion Flight Center in booths 117-118 during the Conference.
JONATHAN “JJ” GREENWAY
Jonathan “JJ” Greenway began learning to fly at Boeing Field in Seattle at age 15 in the mid ‘70s. He progressed through his primary flight training and began his professional career as a CFI in the Seattle area. His first flying job was a corporate/industrial position in a twin-engine turboprop in the Western and South Pacific based in Guam. He progressed on to American Airlines where he had an illustrious career flying Boeing and McDonnell Douglas jets. In 2003, he moved on to flying corporate jets, a position he continues in today flying Dassault Falcon jets out of the Washington,D.C. area in worldwide operations. He owns a Decathlon and enjoys providing tailwheel and light aerobatic instruction in his spare time. He just cleared 17,125 hours in his logbook.
RICHARD KENNINGTON
Richard Kennington knew he wanted to be an Air Traffic Controller since he toured a tower at the age of eight. As he waited to get into ATC school, he earned his private pilot certificate and worked as a dispatcher for a flight school. While in school, he took a job as the Assistant to the Airport Manager at a small regional airport.
In 1999, Richard joined the FAA and currently works at Portland Tower. In addition to working air traffic, he develops the recurrent train-
ing courses for all controllers nationwide. With whatever free time is left over, he referees high school sports.
Pilot vs Controller: Let’s Settle This Once & For All”
SAT, FEB 22 @ 11:45 AM | Keynote Stage SUN, FEB 23 @ 11:30 AM | Founders Room
Richard Kennington and JJ Greenway discuss accidents that didn’t happen (but nearly did) in the Pacific Northwest. These two opposite personalities delve into underlying issues that cause misunderstanding between pilots & controllers.
Getting the Most out of ATC Richard Kennington, Air Traffic ControllerSAT, FEB 22 @ 10:30 AM | Heritage SUN, FEB 23 @ 2:30 AM | Heritage
You pay for the service, why not use it to your advantage? General aviation pilots often avoid utilizing ATC for many reasons and sometimes it is to their own detriment. During this presentation, we will explore how you can operate more efficiently in controlled airspace, how to avoid potential problems, and insider knowledge to make ATC less of a mystery.
