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Christopher Freeze

I can teach you how to fly!
(And it is easier than you think)

Christopher Freeze is a Flight Instructor (CFI), certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and providing flying lessons in Northern Virginia (namely, from Leesburg) and the Washington DC area.  He is also a FAA-certified Advanced & Instrument Ground Instructor, and one of the few persons in the United States authorized to conduct safety seminar training under the FAA's "WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program" as a commercial training provider, and is a FAA Safety Team Representative.

A native of Alaska, Christopher studied aerospace engineering throughout the western United States, has written articles for several aviation publications, including "Air & Space", "AOPA Pilot", "AOPA Flight Training","General Aviation News", "EAA Sport Aviation", and "Air Line Pilot" as well as co-authored two books on his hobby, aviation archaeology. 

Called a "Jack London of Aviation," Christopher has taught at an aerospace education charter high school in Oakland, California, constructed payloads for NASA high-altitude balloons in Texas, and conducted micro-gravity research in Ohio. He had paid homage to the Wright Brothers through pilgrimage to Dayton and Kill Devil Hill / Kitty Hawk, flown many of the unique airspaces of the United States, including the Los Angeles basin (even landing upon and taking off from the storied "One-Six-Right" of Van Nuys Airport (VNY)), the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (TTS) at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Hudson River corridor of New York City, and operated at all three of the general aviation airports (CGS, W32, and VKX) located in the Washington DC "Flight Restricted Zone".  He has trained at the American Airlines Training Academy (DFW) and JetBlue University (MCO), worked as a contract research simulator "pseudo-pilot" for NASA (NUQ), trained in advanced air accident investigation at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. (GFK), and was a key member of the AOPA Air Safety Institute's eFIRC revision team in 2013.

He has also trained with law enforcement, including the TSA's Crew Member Self Defense Program, the FBI Citizen Academy (including firearms training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.), Fairfax County's Community Emergency Response Team, and the town of Herndon Police.

In 2012, he proudly joined the staff of the AOPA Foundation's Air Safety Institute - the world's largest and most recognized non-governmental safety organization devoted to general aviation - on a full-time basis.  With AOPA, he regularly works with leading experts in aviation safety, flight training, and the advancement of aviation.  His first major project, completed in June of 2013, was the updating of the online Flight Instructor Refresher Course (eFIRC), directly influencing the teaching practices and habits of thousands of CFIs worldwide.

Also in 2013, Christopher earned his Airline Transport Pilot (ATP-ASEL) certificate - the highest level of certification attainable from the FAA.  In September of that year, he was selected, as part of a nationwide poll, as one of the top 12 flight training professionals, as a finalist in the annual AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards. He was the only individual CFI chosen west of the Rocky Mountains, and was again honored in the same poll in 2016, 2018, and 2019. 

In 2014, after ten years of pining, Christopher completed the pilgrimage to the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, flying across the nation in a Cessna 182 RG, as part of the Hayward Air Rally, an aerial challenge of a pilot's flight planning, navigation and pilotage skills, without the guidance of a GPS. He returned to OSH three years later to speak in the Forums to share information on how other pilots can set aviation world records. He also has worked for NASA's Ames Research Center, assisting in the development of the Spot and Runway Departure Advisor (SARDA) and was amongst the first pilot in the United States to earn an FAA "Remote Pilot - Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems" certificate in 2017.

Christopher has also earned an FAA Light Sport Repairman certificate, with a Maintenance rating, from Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, Virginia (one of two programs in the U.S.). He intents to gain experience in order to earn an Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic certificate in the near future.

In 2020, he set the Guinness World Record for the longest 'wheelie' done in an airplane (Cessna 172) at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California.

He also earned his seaplane pilot rating, describing it as "aside from flying with my clients, the most fun I've had in a plane." He has received numerous federal, state, and local civic commendations, including being chosen as a Kentucky Colonel, Alabama Colonel, Texas Admiral, Nebraska Admiral, Arkansas Traveler, and Honorary Tennessean.

He is a life member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), California Pilots Association, Seaplane Pilots Association, National Eagle Scout Association, the First Flight Society, and Mensa, as well as a full member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, an Upper Freeman of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots, and annual member of the National Aeronautic Association, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),  the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), the Explorers Club, and the National Press Club. He also holds a world speed record in aviation, which he set in 2009, and has been elected an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN).

He is entitled to the post-nominal letters of AFRIN and MRAeS under the rules of civility in the United Kingdom.

In 2016, Christopher relocated to the Washington D.C. area for a unique career opportunity with the Air Line Pilots Association, and brought with him the vast experiences carried in his 3,000+ hours of flight instruction. As of 2019, he has flown to over 150 different airports in 25 states and frequently shares his flights to new and interesting place via his YouTube channel (which received a YouTube Silver Play Button Award in 2018).

And he would love to open the door to your flying career, whether for personal or professional purposes, today!

His home airport, located in Leesburg, Virginia, is an outstanding location for flight training, due to the easy access to two nearby practice areas, several uncontrolled, as well as towered / controlled airports within a short distance, and the opportunity to fly and work in the busy "Class Bravo" airspace of the Washington DC Special Flight Rules Area. And he would love to open the door to your flying career, whether for personal or professional purposes, today!

Christopher offers flying lessons for Private Pilot, Commercial Pilot, and Airline Transport Pilot certificates, those seeking to become Flight Instructors, as well as for those looking to add on, maintain, or renew their Instrument ratings.  Teaching on a part-time basis at Aero Elite Flight Training at JYO, Chris has a flexible schedule that can suit your needs as a student pilot.  He is also an experienced ferry pilot, and qualified to provide training for high performance, complex, pressurized, and multi-engine aircraft.

To contact Christopher, click here to e-mail him - and we can see about taking your first, introductory, flight together.










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