Instructor Craig MacCallum CFI, CFII
Craig has loved planes his whole life, starting with his first ride at only 3 months old in a Piper Tri-Pacer. “My social life as a teenager was notably unsuccessful,” he says, “All I ever wanted to talk about was airplanes. We took the one girlfriend I managed to get for a plane ride doing touch and goes, and she got sick in the back seat. That plane is now in the Smithsonian, and she has a better story about it than I do!”
Craig, got his pilot’s license before his driver’s license, and when the time came to choose a career path, he opted for an economics degree, an MBA and a CPA instead of an aviation career. “If my eyes had been good enough, I would have certainly tried for Air Force flight training, but airline pilots faced such uncertain job prospects, with layoffs, deregulations and bankruptcies, and I wanted a steady income. As it turned out I might as well have gone for an airline career, because I’ve been laid off plenty anyway and at least I would have gotten to fly.”
Craig has owned a Citabria, a Grumman Yankee, and a Grumman Tiger. Currently he owns a Beech Sierra in which he takes his wife, son and daughter on weekend outings throughout the northeast. “The Yankee was my favorite plane-a snappy little sports car. I’d fly it hard IFR, with no autopilot, and only 2 ½ hours of gas.” He had flown for thirty years before fulfilling a longtime itch to become a CFI and CFII, and he began instructing at Aero Safety Training in 2007. “Even if I find a regular day job, I expect to still be here nights and weekends,” Craig says, “it’s just too d__n much fun!”
