Shawn Pratt: ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI, CSIP - Chief Flight Instructor
My passion for commercial aviation was ignited while growing up in Alaska. As a teenager, I vividly remember flying out of Sitka to Petersburg, AK in a Boeing 727 where we threaded the mountain ranges in a series of steep banks and landed on a gravel runway! (Took me and the flight attendant about 5 minutes to help the guy next to me let go of his seat!)
I pursued more of a "pay as you go" approach to my flight training, which started during my 10 years of service in the U.S. Navy as an Air Intercept Controller. After leaving the military to focus on a flying career, I spent an additional 6 years working to fund my training as a Certified Flight Instructor. Finally, in 2001, I accepted a job at Northwest Aviation College, and my wife and I moved to the Pacific Northwest before coming to Safety in Motion Flight Center in 2013.
Since starting my aviation career in 2001, I have weathered the events of 9/11, the 2008 financial downturn, and the pandemic's effects on the aviation industry.
Why do I do this? Over the years I have trained and helped literally hundreds of pilots achieve their dreams of becoming pilots, professional or otherwise. I continue to learn from each of them and have become a stronger pilot due to those interactions. For me, the lure of the airlines wasn't as strong. Having toured much of the country as a musician and seen much of the world during my naval career, I opted for a more stable schedule and lifestyle to focus on raising my family. Little did I know I would be raising a large secondary aviation family at the same time, and I couldn't be prouder of watching both flourish and succeed!
In addition to instructing, I work as a Charter and Corporate pilot as well, which is a blast and continues to sharpen my pilot skills. Still, there is no greater professional reward than working as a Certified Flight Instructor and helping people achieve their dreams of becoming aviators!
