Our Team

Santa Monica Flyers remains Los Angeles’ most friendly flight school, thanks in large part to its welcoming team, expert instructors and phenomenal maintenance staff.

Our team, along with our aircraft, make Santa Monica Flyers the best flight school in LA for your flight training needs.

CFI-A Team

A CFI-A (usually shortened to CFI) is a Certified Flight Instructor who is qualified to train and endorse students for various airplane certifications including private, commercial, and flight instructor certificates. If the instructor holds an instrument rating on his/her instructor certificate (CFII), then the instructor can teach pilots towards instrument ratings or instrument proficiency checks (IPC). Unlike a CFI-S, a CFI-A has broader instructional privileges, including teaching in more complex aircraft and certifying pilots beyond the sport level but requires significantly more hours and certifications.

Emily Hacker

CFI-A, CFII, Chief CFI

Max von Mallinckrodt

CFI-A, CFII, TCI, Tailwheel, ATP, ERJ 170/190

Daniel Collier

CFI-A, Tailwheel, Spin Training, and Aerobatics

Andre Bennett

Gold Seal CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP, CE-550

Andrew Zizik

CFI-A, CFII

Scotty Weber

CFI-A, CFII, TailW, IGI, TCI, Gold Seal

Brandon Battaglia

CFI-A, CFII, MEI

John Kingsley

CFI, CFII

Sarah Burch

CFI, CFII, MEI, Tailwheel, Gold Seal

Erfan Zargari

CFI-A, CFII

Lorenzo Binetti

CFI-A

CFI-S Team

A CFI-S (Certified Flight Instructor – Sport) specializes in training students to obtain a sport pilot certificate, which is limited to light-sport aircraft (LSA). They can instruct in simpler, lower-cost planes that don’t require a FAA medical certificate to operate. Unlike a CFI-A, a CFI-S cannot provide training for private, commercial, or instrument ratings, making it a more restrictive but accessible path for those focused solely on sport aviation.

Jorge Sanchez

CFI-S
Maintenance DIrector

Support Staff Team

Jorge Sanchez

Director of Maintenance

CODY WILLIAMS

Flight Line Operations

Noah Nguyen

Flight Line Operations

MAX VON MALLINCKRODT

Manager

YASEMIN ÖZGÜR

Front Desk Operations

Interested in working with Santa Monica Flyers?

Learn more about joining the SMF team as a flight instructor, mechanic and more!