New Association To Lobby on Behalf of Flight Academies

NFTA is a consortium of U.S.-based flight training providers and professionals working for the benefit and advancement of the national aviation industry, and advocating for the interests of its members. The organization is designed to network between flight training providers and U.S. lawmakers, the FAA, airlines, manufacturers, lenders, insurance underwriters, and other industry stakeholders. 

NFTA is led by CEO Lee Collins, an aviation industry professional whose resume includes 31 years as a pilot for United Parcel Service, president of an airline industry trade association, and senior vice president at Paragon Flight Training, a busy aviation academy in the southern U.S. He has more than 20 years of experience in government affairs that involve aviation.

According to Collins, “There are more than 600 FAA-termed ‘pilot schools’ in the United States, yet there is a void in the conversation when it comes to actively including these flight training academies in national discussions on crucial issues impacting aviation in the United States. With the National Flight Training Association, organizations who help train the next generation of pilots will have a seat at the table and a voice in Washington."

Collins noted the ongoing pilot shortage has made it clear that the aviation industry is critical to the U.S. economy, and "is in a fragile state and needs direction from a variety of stakeholders, including flight training organizations of all sizes. Legislation that impacts the flight training industry must be informed, in part, by that industry to fully understand its ramifications.”

NFTA has five founding board members, and each will serve a three-year term. 

Nayda Cattin, vice president of Cirrus Aviation in Sarasota, Florida, will serve as NFTA vice president, government affairs; Bill Heckathorn, president and founder of Ignite Flight Academy in Lincoln, Nebraska takes the role of NFTA vice president, membership; Ed Comisky, Designated Pilot Examiner and president, Echo Charlie Aviation, Orlando, Florida, becomes NFTA secretary/treasurer; Christopher Schoensee, president and owner of Paragon Flight Training, in Fort Myers, Florida, is NFTA vice president, marketing ;and Captain Troy E. Wheeler, Jr., president of Georgia-based Lanier Flight Center, LLC, has accepted the position as NFTA board president.

According to a statement from the group, NFTA has already attracted more than two dozen members. NFTA’s first-year agenda will focus on" an array of critical issues intended to produce the safest, most efficient, and most cost-effective training for our nation’s future pilots."