Adina Papp
FAASTeam Program Manager, FAA’s Albany Flight Standards District Office
By Paul Cianciolo, FAA Safety Briefing Magazine
Aviation education is a passion for Adina Papp. Flying is in her DNA. She even met her pilot-husband while attending EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.
Adina grew up in Boonville, N.Y., spending time with family at the local grass strip. And four generations of pilots — from her grandfather, father, and herself to her son and his wife — have flown their family-owned Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer. The family fleet also includes a Piper PA-18 Super Cub, Piper J-3 Cub, Piper PA-11 Cub Special, and Aeronca Model 7AC Champ.
She learned to fly while attending Murray State University, working for the local fixed-based operator (FBO) pumping fuel and mowing lawns to pay for her wings. She then continued commercial, instrument, and flight instructor training.
“I worked as a flight instructor for many years, specializing in primary and tailwheel instruction,” she notes. “I am one of the few who continued flight instructing because I loved it. I did this for fifteen years while raising a family.”
After her son started college, Adina started down the path to becoming an airline pilot — a lifelong dream. She flew for several 14 CFR part 135 operators at the controls of a Piper PA-31 Navajo, Cessna 402 Businessliner, and Beechcraft King Air. However, the travel and many nights away from home eventually altered her trajectory.
Adina joined the FAA family as an aviation safety inspector in 2017 to pursue a more stable career and lifestyle. Now, she is one of the local FAA Safety Team Program Managers at the FAA Flight Standards District Office in Albany, N.Y.
“This is the perfect position for me — distributing educational material and regulatory updates to the flying public. I enjoy working with general aviation pilots and the aviation industry to promote safety,” she explains. “In this position, I am proactive instead of reactive, helping to prevent accidents before they occur.”
As a passionate flight instructor, Adina sees one of the industry’s most challenging problems is that most use flight instruction as a stepping-stone to build time for higher-paying commercial positions.
“The most experienced pilots should be teaching, but it is often the least experienced pilots teaching,” she expands. “There is much more to teaching than just teaching what you know. Some critical skills take time to develop to be a good instructor, which are often missed. One of those skills is the psychology of teaching.”
How you teach to everyone’s learning style is very important. A good start is understanding the fundamentals of instruction by studying the FAA’s Aviation Instructor’s Handbook. The law of primacy — first impressions are strong impressions — is what Adina equates to one of the most important for any flight instructor to know.
“What a pilot learns first is very likely what they will continue throughout their flying career,” she explains. “Flight instructors must teach correctly, be excellent role models, set good examples, and instill good habits. They must be a good example of responsibility and professionalism, dress appropriately, speak appropriately, and set good moral and ethical standards. They must be on time and respectful. They must lead by example because the student will do what the flight instructor does.”
One last piece of advice: adjust your teaching style to accommodate each student’s way of learning.
“This is part of the challenge that keeps instructing interesting and fun. Change it up, try new ways to get your point across, and enjoy the experience.”
Paul Cianciolo is an associate editor and the social media lead for FAA Safety Briefing. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and an auxiliary airman with Civil Air Patrol.
