Local pilot earns Master Flight Instructor status

Dec. 2, 2022  |  By Sarah Blow  |  Correspondent 

Matthew Sawyer, of Waterbury, has earned his Master Flight Instructor Accreditation. Courtesy photo

A Waterbury pilot recently earned his Master Flight Instructor Accreditation to become the only Master Certificated Flight Instructor currently in the state.

Matthew Sawyer, 26, now has the National Association of Flight Instructors Masters Flight Instructor Accreditation, awarded to aviation educators who go above and beyond in their field. He’s one of only four Vermonters to ever receive the credential, and the only current instructor with it.

“Master Instructors are aviation educators who reach an exceptional level of instructional activity, personal development, and professional service to the flight-training and aviation community,” the national association explains on its website. 

Josh Niehaus is director of program development at the National Association of Flight Instructors. He praised Sawyer as he spoke of the rigorous process for obtaining accreditation.

The certification requires 32 credits spread across four categories including work to better the community and being an educator on the ground and in the air. After nearly 500 hours of work, the candidate submits a package that’s reviewed by the National Association of Flight Instructors and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the pilot meets the qualifications.

“It’s kind of a big deal,” Niehaus said.

The Master Flight Instructor program, which began in 1997 has awarded just over 800 certifications to pilots across the nation, creating an incredibly slim acceptance rate.

“Some people come to us and say if it’s a program that’s been around so long, shouldn't it have more people? But this isn’t something that we do to get the numbers – we do it because it means something. Because it can’t be met by everybody makes it special,” Niehaus explained.

Like many pilots, Sawyer said his interest in aviation started at a young age. His grandmother would drive him and his sister to his parent’s business where they would pass a billboard every day advertising Air Force pilot careers with the question: “Why not you?” The piqued his imagination. 

Thirteen years before earning his Master Flight Instructor Accreditation, 12-year-old Sawyer took his first flight in a Beechcraft Bonanza owned by his father’s business partner and he caught the bug to fly. 

“We just took a quick flight about an hour long and that really sealed the deal,and subsequent family vacations on commercial airlines also solidified that for me as well,” Sawyer said.

After graduating from high school, Sawyer earned his private pilot certificate at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease in New Hampshire. His instructor introduced him to the Vermont Technical College Professional Pilot Technology program in Williston where Sawyer enrolled in 2016. He went on to earn his Certified Flight Instructor, Certified Flight Instructor-Instrument, Multi-Engine Instructor, and Single-Engine Seaplane certificates and ratings.

Sawyer said he originally had aspirations to become an airline pilot, but his interest began to shift towards flight instruction when he noticed issues within the program that he wanted to change.

“I realized that I could actually start changing some of these things. So once I graduated Vermont Tech, I was offered full-time employment at Vermont Flight Academy and was actually allowed to start changing things which was pretty cool.”

Sawyer graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Pilot Technology and currently is assistant chief flight instructor and director of operations at Vermont Flight Academy based at Burlington International Airport. In his time there, Sawyer has created custom training syllabi for the training courses at VFA. He helped rewrite its standard operating procedures, and most recently, he helped the company purchase a new Tecnam P92. The first new airplane VFA has owned, the P92 is the most fuel-efficient and training-oriented aircraft in the company’s fleet.

Tom D’Urso is executive director at Vermont Flight Academy, where students in the Vermont Technical College program receive their flight training. The academy also works closely with Beta Technologies, the electric vertical aircraft developer and manufacturer, training its staff to be pilots. 

D’Urso said he wasn’t surprised that Sawyer landed his master instructor credential “because of the excellent program at VTC that he came out of.” Sawyer has a natural talent for teaching and saw the big picture at the flight academy’s program, D’Urso said, noting that Sawyer’s role now is “an incredible amount of responsibility.” 

Ulike many aviation students who gravitate to jobs flying for airlines, Sawyer showed interest in joining the flight academy and improving its systems. It wasn’t long before D’Urso said he had taken on multiple roles that impact the school’s entire program from ensuring it complies with FAA requirements to coaching other instructors.  “He’s at the top of the ladder determining the proficiency of everybody who gets into an airplane here,” D’Urso said of the young manager. 

Sawyer has both a passion for teaching and for general aviation. “I see it every day in how he instructs with students, with his mentorship of the flight instructors,” D’Urso said. “He makes them better flight instructors and better pilots.” 

Despite his accomplishments, Sawyer is quick to mention fellow pilot and co-worker Noah Ranallo, who is also working towards his Master Flight Instructor Accreditation. “I just had my packet ready before he did,” he said.

Sawyer and Ranallo overlapped their time at Vermont Technical College – Ronallo was beginning his training as Sawyer was finishing up his. They bonded through their shared interest and one terrifying moment in the air.

The two were flying a seaplane heading back to Burlington when the entire electrical system cut out leaving their landing gear in the upright position, holding them hostage in the sky, Sawyer recounted.

It was Sawyer’s third flight piloting that specific aircraft and Noah’s second as co-pilot.

The two switched roles and Ronallo piloted the plane while Sawyer quickly began managing the situation, running through checklists and evaluating equipment to locate the problem and address it so they could land.

“He’s a great person to have as a crew member, we have similar amounts of experience and we work really well together… he just did an awesome job,” Ronallo said. 

As a fellow pilot also working towards his Master Flight Accreditation, Ronallo praised his friend. “He just has a passion for making the flight training environment a better place for everyone and works really hard everyday to make that happen,” he said.

More information about the National Association of Flight Instructors and the NAFI Master Flight Instructor Accreditation can be found online at NAFINet.org.