CFI on the Fly: Elite Aviation's Connor Stuart - From Skyhawk to Challenger

By Carmelo Turdo

The Aero Experience celebrates Midwest Aviation with our "CFI on the Fly" series to honor the unsung heroes of the aviation industry - the Certified Flight Instructors training the next generation of pilots at flight schools large and small across the region. CFIs are in high demand, and new instructors are gaining flight hours at a rate that guarantees their rapid progression to the corporate, charter or airline crew positions to which many aspire. Rather than generalize about the CFI/CFII/MEI roles, we will start from the individual and find out what makes a great CFI through their particular contribution. 

In this edition, we feature CFII Connor Stuart from Elite Aviation based at Spirit of St. Louis Airport. He has appeared in several stories on The Aero Experience in the last two years covering his participation in the Red Tail Cadet Program and sharing his expertise in the Garmin G1000 avionics system. Stuart exudes an enthusiasm for teaching that reflects his outgoing personality, and he also brings a systems mentality to flight instruction that helps his students gain a more complete understanding of their aircraft and the airspace environment in which they operate. 

During the extended production time of this story, we were able to include not only Connor Stuart's training background and flight instruction experience, but also his advancement to the next chapter of his aviation career - achieving his ambition to fly for a jet charter company last December. 

Elite Aviation encourages their CFIs to grow and develop their talents and skills to the fullest potential. Considering the amount of flight time devoted to the large student population, that usually results in their instructors moving up to corporate jets or the airlines in just a few years. 

(photo courtesy of Connor Stuart)

Connor Stuart genuinely enjoys flight instructing, and even though he has already achieved his goal of flying charters, he will still find opportunities to mentor new students.

"I have been more of a career CFI than I thought I would be," he told The Aero Experience. "I have meshed pretty well with this lifestyle. I've really enjoyed it. It's time for me to move up. I don't think it's moving on - I'll never let my CFI lapse. I'll always be an instructor in some capacity.

"What got me into instructing - CFI - it's a step in the process to becoming a professional pilot, to gain flight time and experience, but also help other people out," he continued. "I have stayed over the time most people usually do because I've found a knack for it. I love this job - I genuinely love this job."

Many in the aviation community can identify with how Connor Stuart became interested in aviation at a young age. It is the great American story of a boy experiencing flight and then living the dream. 

"My dad worked for a car company, and I grew up taking cars apart and restoring them with my dad. And when I was really little, he used to take me out to Lambert and we'd go watch planes land because his office was right over by the airport...When I was a kid, I really loved aviation - it was one of the passions I had. And I got lucky enough that my dad had a friend, when I was in the third grade, who had a [Cessna] 152 based out of Spirit and his daughter, who is an airline pilot now, took me up for a flight. And I loved it...You do it once, and you're hooked - it stuck with me."

Fast forward through high school to picking a college to attend. Stuart looked into computer science and aviation programs at several colleges before enthusiastically choosing the University of Central Missouri Aviation Program in Warrensburg. He wanted to become a professional pilot, and this was the way to get there. 

Stuart started at UCM in the fall semester of 2016 with a ground school course before starting his flight training that December. He achieved his Private Pilot Certificate in 2018 and then his Instrument Rating and Commercial Pilot Certificate in minimum time thereafter. He completed his BS Professional Pilot degree coursework in May of 2020 and completed CFI and multi-engine training while commuting back and forth from St. Louis while working line service at Jet Links and later Aero Charter. His training aircraft included Cessna 172R/S, Cessna 172RG, and Beech 58 Baron.

"If you have aspirations in aviation, especially for my teen-age students, I'll tell them you can get a decent-paying job fueling aircraft and you'll learn a lot and you'll make connections. Line service is a wonderful route, and it teaches you a lot about the industry." Stuart's experience fueling different types of aircraft led him to focus on the jet charter industry.

He received his CFI Initial Complete at Warrensburg in December of 2020, and shortly thereafter began instructing at the UCM Aviation department. Flight instructing adds a new dimension to an aviation career, with the responsibility of developing your students into competent and confident pilots.

"I started taking my students under my wing, and I saw a level of trust and respect. When you see their face light up when they fly for the first time, or when they get something like they just did a stall, or they just landed by themselves...'That was all you.' That's what it's all about."

After flight training at UCM, Stuart went to Garmin to nurture his continuing interest in computer science in the avionics field. He liked the interaction with customers using the various Garmin products in their aircraft, but he was not flying regularly. This led him to look for another flying job in the St. Louis area. Instructing at Elite Aviation reignited his passion for flying with students again while progressing along the path to a career in the jet charter industry.

Connor Stuart's time at Garmin proved to be a valuable investment not long after he joined Elite Aviation. He became one of the G1000 specialists, giving instruction on the avionics suite along with his regular CFI duties. The system provides precise flight instrumentation and a vast array of navigation and situational awareness data, increasing the margin of safety in the training and general aviation environments. But all of that data is only useful if the pilot knows how to efficiently access and use it, not only when cruising along but also when an emergency situation compresses the reaction time to minutes or even seconds. 

"This system is all about mindset and just understanding the logic of how it's put together," Stuart explained. "I try to use the PFD [Primary Flight Display] for execution and the MFD [Multi-Function Display] for programming. And I try to leave the flight plan page up." 

Stuart teaches his students about the logic behind the FMS [Flight Management System] knob on the MFD. The system is organized like a book, with the FMS knob cuing up different chapters, and pages, giving additional details as needed to the pilot. The nearest page feature gives the airports and frequencies located along the flight path for a quick refence in case of emergency or when just being "momentarily lost" during flight. With both screens activated, the flight instruments and navigation features are accessible without pressing any more buttons.

Not all of the Elite Aviation Skyhawks are G1000-equipped, and most flight school aircraft still have the conventional "six-pack" instruments. Connor Stuart also supports the use of "old school" methods of flight training as well. 

"It's easier to learn on that system and the fundamentals and knowing where to find everything the old fashioned way - looking at a chart supplement AFD or the actual VFR sectional chart and learning pilotage and dead reckoning." These skills are essential when Stuart "fails" the GPS and autopilot, and it is time to return to the airport.

At the end of the day, the quality of flight training should be such that the skills, knowledge and good habits learned early on should carry forth through advanced certificates, ratings and throughout one's flying career. Connor Stuart offers some insights from his own experience.

"With every certificate and rating, you always need to learn more. It's not about total time, it's about the quality of time." It is also about maintaining a positive attitude. 

"When I was taking those check rides under the [FAA Part] 141 environment, and when I took a little more time to train, I felt overprepared tor that check ride, which in the long run for me was advantageous, because I am able to do that stuff confidently. When I got ready for my instrument check ride, or my commercial check ride, when I got to the day of the check ride, I was in the mindset of, 'I'm already instrument rated. I'm already a commercial pilot. Let's get this over with. Let's do this!'"

The best way to get to know Connor Stuart is to fly with him, and The Aero Experience did just that last spring. He arranged for a late afternoon flight in one of the Elite Aviation G1000-equipped Skyhawks that ended with a spectacular sunset landing under a slight haze created by the Midwest forest fires raging at the time. We learned about his passion for aviation and flight instruction along with getting a tutorial on the G1000 system. Watch the video below:

(photo courtesy of Connor Stuart)

We visited again with Connor Stuart last fall as he prepared to move on to a company called VistaJet, a Part 135 operator that works off a subscription model for a certain amount of flight hours per year. He received his Challenger 300/350 type rating from CAE at Morristown, NJ in December. 

"I've worked really hard to get to this point, and I'm very, very grateful that I'm here."

During his on-site interview with VistaJet, Stuart was given the choice of flying the Citation series with Garmin systems, which would come naturally to him, or the Challenger 300, which would present a considerably more "challenging" training environment. The answer was predictable: Challenger. 

"I can be the student again. I have to be the student again. It's a complete change in mindset. I told them that I've got the training in CRM from my university. I've got training in FMS systems from my university. I've got some background and understanding in what to expect. I know how to study...The following week I got a call from their HR with the offer for the opportunity to fly the Challenger 300. (Photos below courtesy of Connor Stuart).

       

"I'm always going to be grateful for the instructors I've had. I've reached out to my previous instructors and told them 'Thank you.' I've told them where I'm at and I'm grateful to have them in my training path. They've made me the pilot that I am, and I'm excited to move up and start doing that."

The Aero Experience thanks Connor Stuart for devoting his time to this story and for working with us over the last two years. We also thank Elite Aviation for providing our flight and for their support as one of our founding sponsors.