Amy Hoover, author, backcountry pilot, and professor at Central Washington University in Ellensburg was named 2022 National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year. The award is given by the FAA and the General Aviation Awards Industry Board. Of the more than 30 years she’s been flying, for the past 19 she has been teaching at CWU. Hoover serves as a flight check instructor and assistant chief ground instructor.

Hoover didn’t start out with dreams of becoming a pilot though. She was an M.E. Sadler National Merit Scholar at TCU and graduated with a B.S. in Geology in 1983. In her 20s, Hoover was working as a field geologist in the backcountry of Idaho. Sometimes the only way to get to the river canyons she was working in was by helicopter or raft. Because of this, Hoover became a whitewater rafting guide and became interested in backcountry flying.

With her experience teaching and tutoring at the college level and her flight training, she combined her love of teaching with her love of aviation, and the rest is history. Today Hoover specializes in tailwheel and mountain flying. Read the full article here.

Photo Credit: Central Washington University