The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) has announced that Aaron Dabney, a five-time Master CFI and longtime volunteer, has been added to the NAFI Board of Directors.
Dabney was born and raised in Victoria, Texas, where he spent his weekends at the feet of World War II veterans and plant workers in the coffee circle at the local grass strip, Ball Airport. He earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in education at Baylor University.
Since 2010, Dabney has served as adjunct faculty in that institution’s Aviation Science program, teaching freshman and upper-level courses and serving as an assistant chief ground instructor. Before leaving for college, Mr. Dabney soloed in his family’s 1946 Piper Cub, and he is now proud to be the caretaker of that airplane.
An active flight instructor since 2009 and a Master Flight Instructor since 2013, Dabney and his wife of 17 years, Alisa, owned Waco Flight Training in Waco, Texas. He prides himself on training staff instructors to marry “old school” stick-and-rudder flying to modern pedagogy and considers building the general aviation community in his area to be an essential part of his mission.
Dabney is an active NAFI volunteer in multiple capacities, including serving on the Master CFI reviewer board, leadership on the volunteer team, and assisting with MentorLIVE production. In addition, he is a proud Lifetime Member of the Experimental Aircraft Association. When he’s not flying or teaching, Dabney and his wife love to travel and share their passion for small business ownership with others.
Observing the overlap between running a flight school and a small business, he sees similar skillsets he can bring to NAFI. Since most of his current professional life involves training teachers, Dabney puts a heavy emphasis on mentorship. Since mentorship is part of the NAFI strategic plan, he will participate in an area where he can make an early and lasting impact.
Dabney said, “My NAFI membership has been a huge asset to me since day one, allowing me to interact with many of the giants of our profession and access one-of-a-kind resources for my professional development. I’m excited and eager to serve in a capacity where I can help transform our evolving mentorship strategy into real programming that benefits my fellow members and their clients.”
Karen Kalishek, NAFI’s Chair, added “NAFI welcomes Aaron Dabney to the Board of Directors. Aaron has a combination of skills, experience, and enthusiasm that will benefit NAFI in our mission to promote flight instruction excellence via education, mentorship, and advocacy. Aaron joins NAFI as a career flight instructor and flight school owner. During his time as a NAFI member, he has earned five Master Instructor accreditations and served NAFI as a dedicated volunteer, most recently as the co-Producer for our monthly MentorLIVE broadcasts. Aaron is passionate about mentoring flight instructors and will serve as co-Chair of NAFI’s Mentor Committee. He is a solid addition to NAFI’s leadership team and will assist in developing new programming and member benefits.”
