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Our Agenda

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DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3

September 8th, 2026

1:00PM - 4:30PM CDT
Exhibitor Set Up
1:00PM - 6:00PM CDT
Registration Open
3:00PM - 5:00PM CDT
Roundtable Discussions
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• Steal My Lesson Plan: A CFI Idea Exchange
• Part 141 Update
• YIKES!
• Angle of Attack Indicators

6:15PM CDT
Buses Depart Hotel for Welcome Reception
6:30PM - 9:30PM CDT
Welcome Reception at Frontiers of Flight Museum
9:30PM CDT
Buses Depart for Hotel

September 9th, 2026

7:45AM CDT
Registration Opens
7:45AM - 5:00PM CDT
Exhibit Hall Open
8:45AM - 9:00AM CDT
Opening Remarks
9:00AM - 9:45AM CDT
Keynote Speaker - Darren Pleasance
Who Should Attend?All
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Where can a pilot certificate take you? Almost anywhere.
Adventure pilot, accomplished business executive, former AOPA President and CEO, and best-selling author Darren Pleasance will challenge the audience to think bigger about what a life in aviation can become. From professional flying and entrepreneurship to leadership, exploration, and service, Darren will illuminate the many paths available to those willing to build the right combination of skills and experiences. Blending aviation insights with lessons from his book, True North: A Handbook for Inspired Living, he will show attendees how to create not just a successful flying career, but a truly extraordinary life.

9:45AM - 10:15AM CDT
Networking Break
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Beyond Flying Skills: The Role of Mental Performance Training in Aviation by Ryan Addams [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs (Maybe students)
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Updates on MOSAIC and Sport Pilot Instruction by Bill Snodgrass [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Your Flight Plan to Getting Hired by Kit Darby [Workshop]
Who Should Attend?All
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The pilot job market has never been more dynamic and knowing how to navigate it makes all the difference. In this workshop, Kit Darby breaks down the current state of hiring across airlines and aviation employers, what they are really looking for right now, how to read market trends and time your moves strategically, and how to build an application package that gets you to the interview chair. Whether you are pursuing your first professional role or making a strategic career move, you will leave with a clear picture of where the market stands and a concrete plan to land your next seat.

11:00AM - 11:30AM CDT
Networking Break
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
DPE Panel moderated by Karen Kalishek with panelist Fred Sweet [Panel Discussion]
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
Stayin' Alive by Philip Mandel [Presentation]
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
From Reactive to Intentional: A Framework for a Balanced School moderated by Lee Collins with panelist Mike Sykes [Panel Discussion]
Who Should Attend?Flight School Owners
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You did not open a flight school to spend your days putting out fires. But that is exactly where most owners end up: reacting to a competitor's pricing, reacting to an instructor who just quit, reacting to a student complaint that should never have reached you.
This session gives you a framework to break that cycle. We will look at how to set pricing that holds, build operations that do not collapse without you, scale with a plan instead of pressure, and compete from a position of strength rather than panic.
Stop reacting. Start leading.

12:15PM - 1:15PM CDT
Lunch
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Straight Talk About Aviation Safety by John and Martha King [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?All
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Student Personalities - And What To Do About Them by Rick Miller [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Why Students Quit and What You Can Do About It moderated by Brett Watts with panelists Adriana Barragan, Caressa Bray, Kieren Smith, Sherman Gardner, and Susan Tholen [Panel Discussion]
Who Should Attend?Flight School Owners
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Eight out of ten student pilots never make it to their private pilot certificate. That number is not just a statistic. It represents lost revenue, wasted resources, and a pipeline problem that affects the entire industry. This panel brings together flight school owners and representatives from tools and platforms built specifically to address student dropout, for an honest conversation about why students disengage and what schools can do to keep them on track.
From the first discovery call to solo flight and beyond, the panel explores the touchpoints where students are most likely to walk away and the strategies, systems, and support structures that make the difference. If you run a flight school, this session gives you both the perspective and the practical tools to improve retention, protect your revenue, and develop more pilots.

2:00PM - 2:30PM CDT
Networking Break
2:30PM - 3:15PM CDT
Pilot Mental Health 2026 by Tony Reed [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?All
2:30PM - 3:15PM CDT
Get Out of Jail Free? The Power of NASA Reports in to Improve Flight Instruction by JJ Madison [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?All
2:30PM - 3:15PM CDT
Find Your Next Role Faster by Abbey Hutter & Lauren Miller [Workshop]
Who Should Attend?Students
3:15PM - 3:45PM CDT
Networking Break
3:45PM - 4:30PM CDT
TBD

September 10th, 2026

8:30AM CDT
Registration Opens
8:30AM - 4:45PM CDT
Exhibit Hall Open
9:00AM - 9:45AM CDT
AME Panel moderated by Tony Reed [Panel Discussions]
9:00AM - 9:45AM CDT
The Emergencies Your Weren't Trained for... by Collin McDonald [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs and Students
9:00AM - 9:45AM CDT
From Classroom to Cockpit: Recruiting and Retaining High School-Aged Students into Professional Flight Training Programs moderated by Ari Prevalla with panelists Caleb Mundt, Jay Vyas, Kailee Calder, and Samantha Bowyer [Panel Discussions]
Who Should Attend?Flight School Owners
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The next generation of professional pilots is sitting in high school classrooms right now. The flight schools and instructors who reach them early, and keep them engaged through to certification, will have a significant advantage in a market where the demand for pilots is only growing. This panel brings together flight school owners and CFIs to tackle both sides of the equation: how to build pipelines into high schools and youth aviation programs, and how to structure your training environment to retain young students once they walk through your door.
From outreach strategies and partnerships with schools and aviation organizations to the unique challenges of training younger students and keeping their momentum alive, the panel covers what is working on the ground today. If you are looking to grow your student base and develop career-focused pilots from the ground up, this session is your starting point.

9:45AM - 10:15AM CDT
Networking Break
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Debriefing by Brandon Williams [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Hiring AI as your Virtual Assistant by Brent Moran [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs
10:15AM - 11:00AM CDT
Untraditional Solutions to Overcoming the Cost of Flight Training by Jamail Larkins [Workshop]
Who Should Attend?Students
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The secrets to discovering, applying, & winning scholarships to subsidize flight training. With more than $20 million in flight training scholarships available, Jamail Larkins, FAA Ambassador for Aviation Education & Founder of AviationStart, the largest aviation scholarship resource, shares the pro-tips students and CFI’s can utilize to obtain support to reach their dream career in aviation.

11:00AM - 11:30AM CDT
Networking Break
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
Weather or Not to Fly by Jeff Arnold [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs and Students
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
Teaching in the Sweet Spot: Managing Mental Workload to Grow Better Pilots, Faster by Piotr Dlugiewicz [Presentation]
Who Should Attend?CFIs
11:30AM - 12:15PM CDT
Are You Actually Airline Ready? Moderated by Brandon Martini with panelists Terry Basham, Zack Weisenburger, Jack Gainer, and Christopher Reese [Panel Discussion]
Who Should Attend?Students, Flight School Owners
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Getting flight hours is only part of the equation. This panel brings together airline recruiters and flight school leaders for an honest conversation about why so many applicants fall short before they ever reach the interview stage. From application mistakes and resume gaps to professionalism and preparation, the panel breaks down exactly where candidates lose ground and what it takes to stand out in a competitive hiring pool.
For flight school owners and instructors, this session is just as critical. What students are missing in the cockpit starts long before the application. Hear directly from the airlines on what they wish flight schools were teaching and leave with actionable steps to better prepare your students from day one.
Whether you are a student pilot charting your path to the airlines or a flight school owner building the next generation of professional pilots, this is the session that tells you what no one else will.

12:15PM - 1:15PM CDT
Lunch
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Regulators [Panel Discussion]
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Your Role as a Professional Aviator Starts Now [Panel Discussion]
1:15PM - 2:00PM CDT
Safety by design: How AI is Changing Risk Management in Flight Training moderated by Piotr Dlugiewicz with panelists Carolina Gianardi, Cedric Paillard, Felipe Santiago, John Seal, and Katherine Odland [Panel Discussion]
Who Should Attend?Students, Flight School Owners
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Safety is the foundation of every flight school but managing it effectively has never been simple. From tracking student progress and identifying risk patterns to staying ahead of incidents before they happen, the demands on flight school operators are significant. This panel brings together safety experts, aviation technology leaders, and flight school operators to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the way schools approach safety culture, risk mitigation, and operational oversight.
The conversation goes beyond the technology itself. Panelists will dig into real-world applications, what AI tools can realistically do for a flight school today, where human judgment still leads, and how to build a safety program that is both data-informed and instructor-driven. If you are responsible for the safety of students and staff at your school, this session gives you a clearer picture of where the industry is heading and what steps you can take now.

2:00PM - 2:30PM CDT
Networking Break
2:30PM - 4:00PM CDT
Roundtable Discussions
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• Returning to CF After Another Career
• Something Seems Off
• Using AI in Your Flight Training

2:30PM - 4:00PM CDT
Meet A...
4:30PM - 4:45PM CDT
Closing Remarks