AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 112
PILOTS AOPA FLIGHT TRAINING EXPERIENCE CFI OF THE YEAR
Mike Biewenga
Turning unhappy people into happy customers
B Y J I L L W. TA L L M A N
LOGBOOK
WHO: Mike Biewenga
HOURS | 1,700
CERTIFICATES AND
RATINGS | Commercial, instrument, CFI,
CFII, tailwheel
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT | "Whatever my stu-
dents want to fly. The best airplane is the
one you're in."
EXTRA | Blue Skies Flying Services, where
Biewenga is chief flight instructor, was
named Best Midwest Flying School in the
2018 AOPA Flight Training Experience
Awards for the second year in a row.
112 | AOPA PILOT February 2019
MARIAH KARSON
MIKE BIEWENGA has been a pilot since
1993, but his decision to turn flying into a
career was more recent. Biewenga is the
chief flight instructor of Blue Skies Flying
Services at Lake in the Hills Airport,
Illinois, near Chicago.
Before that, Biewenga was an engineer
and owned a software company. About four
years ago he decided he liked the view from
a cockpit better than the one from behind a
desk, and now he teaches flying full time. He
has developed a reputation within the aviation community for professionalism, patience,
and consistency in his approach to flight students, and in 2018 he was named National
Flight Instructor of the Year in the AOPA Flight
Training Experience Awards.
Biewenga said he considers students people whom he genuinely cares about, rather than
as a logbook entry or a paycheck. "My students
end up becoming my friends because we all
have a connection in one way or another."
Biewenga's clients describe him as "professional, knowledgeable, prepared, consistent,"
with "uncompromising high standards." He
doesn't have a specialty, but he particularly
enjoys working with pilots who have had a
challenging time learning to fly. "I turn them
from unhappy to happy people," he said. "I've
gotten pretty good at that."
One of the best ways to help students learn
is by setting up scenarios that allow them to
make decisions and see the results of their
actions, Biewenga said. "It's good to let them struggle with that process a bit as they
work through it, but we don't want to just leave them hanging," he said. "Our job is to
be an active guide in helping them to make those connections as efficiently as possible."
The best part of flight instructing, Biewenga said, is being able to spend time with
people who love aviation. "It's a parade of interesting people who come through the
door," he said. "Anyone who wants to fly has a certain personality trait that's a little hard
to describe. They enjoy life.
"It's neat to hang out with all kinds of people who have that kind of positive quality
to them," he said.
AOPA
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019
Contents
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Intro
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Cover1
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Cover2
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Contents
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 2
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 3
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 4
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 5
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 6
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 7
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 8
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 9
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 10
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 11
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 12
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 13
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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 15
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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-1
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-2
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-3
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-4
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-5
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-6
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-7
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-8
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-9
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-10
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-11
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-12
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-13
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-14
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-15
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-16
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-17
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-18
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-19
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - T-20
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 49
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 50
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - 51
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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Cover3
AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - February 2019 - Cover4
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