Nationally-recognized Flight Instructor
About
Christopher Freeze is a Flight Instructor (CFI), certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and providing flying lessons in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and the Washington DC area. Holding the FAA's highest certification rating for pilots, Airline Transport Pilot, he is also an FAA-certified Advanced & Instrument Ground Instructor (AGI/IGI), an FAA-certified Maintenance Repairman for Light Sport Aircraft (LSRM), and one of the few persons in the United States authorized to conduct safety seminar training under the FAA's "WINGS - Pilot Proficiency Program" as a commercial training provider.
His home airport, located in Leesburg, Virginia, (JYO) is an outstanding location for flight training, due to the easy access to two nearby practice areas, several uncontrolled, as well as towered/controlled airports within a short distance, and the opportunity to fly and work in the busy "Class Bravo" airspace of the Washington DC Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA).
Christopher offers flying lessons for Private Pilot (PPL), Commercial Pilot (CPL), and Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificates, those seeking to become Flight Instructors, as well as for those looking to add on, maintain, or renew their Instrument (IFR) on Multi-engine (AMEL) ratings. Teaching on a part-time basis at Aero Elite Flight Training at JYO, Chris has a flexible schedule that can suit your needs as a student pilot. He is also an experienced ferry pilot, and qualified to provide training for high performance, complex, pressurized, and multi-engine aircraft.
Called "the Jack London of Aviation," Christopher has taught at an aerospace education charter high school in Oakland, California, constructed payloads for NASA high-altitude balloons in Texas, and conducted micro-gravity research in Ohio. He had paid homage to the Wright Brothers through pilgrimage to Dayton and Kill Devil Hill / Kitty Hawk, flown many of the unique airspaces of the United States, including the Los Angeles basin (even landing upon and taking off from the storied "One-Six-Right" of Van Nuys Airport (VNY)), the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility (TTS) at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the Hudson River corridor of New York City, and operated at all three of the general aviation airports (CGS, W32, and VKX) located in the Washington DC "Flight Restricted Zone". He has trained at the American Airlines Training Academy (DFW) and JetBlue University (MCO), worked as a contract research simulator "pseudo-pilot" for NASA (NUQ), taken part in advanced air accident investigation at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. (GFK), and was a key member of the AOPA Air Safety Institute's eFIRC revision team in 2013.
He has also trained with law enforcement, including the TSA's Crew Member Self Defense Program, the FBI Citizen Academy (including firearms training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.), Fairfax County's Community Emergency Response Team, and the town of Herndon Police.
In 2013, Christopher earned his Airline Transport Pilot (ATP-ASEL) certificate - the highest level of certification attainable from the FAA. In September of that year, he was selected, as part of a nationwide poll, as one of the top 12 flight training professionals, as a finalist in the annual AOPA Flight Training Excellence Awards. He was the only individual CFI chosen west of the Rocky Mountains, and was again honored in the same poll in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023.
In 2020, he set the Guinness World Record for the longest 'wheelie' done in an airplane (Cessna 172) at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, California. The feat garnered media attention from USA Today, Popular Mechanics, AOPA, and local news.
He also earned his seaplane rating, describing it as "aside from flying with my clients, the most fun I've had in a plane" and was among the first pilots in the United States to earn an FAA "Remote Pilot - Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems" certificate (his application was submitted within the first hour of the certificate's availability). He has received numerous federal, state, and local civic commendations, including being chosen as a Kentucky Colonel, Alabama Colonel, Texas Admiral, Nebraska Admiral, Arkansas Traveler, and Honorary Tennessean.
He is a life member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE), National Aeronautic Association (NAA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), California Pilots Association (CalPilots), Seaplane Pilots Association, the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), National Eagle Scout Association, the First Flight Society, and Mensa, as well as a full member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, an Upper Freeman of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots, and an annual member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), the Explorers Club of New York, and the National Press Club. He also holds a world speed record in aviation, which he set in 2009, and has been elected an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN). He is entitled to the post-nominal letters of AFRIN and MRAeS under the rules of civility in the United Kingdom.
In 2016, Christopher relocated to the Washington D.C. area for a unique career opportunity with the Air Line Pilots Association, and brought with him the vast experiences carried in his 3,000+ hours of flight instruction. As of 2020, he has flown to over 150 different airports in 25 states and frequently shares his flights to new and interesting place via his YouTube channel (which received a YouTube Silver Play Button Award in 2018). And he would love to open the door to your flying career, whether for personal or professional purposes, today!
Helping others achieve their dream of learning to fly and become aircraft planes...
Specialties
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Photos and videos
No reviews (yet)
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
A first phone conversation is the introduction - getting to know either a bit, assessing goals and 'chemistry,' and setting up expectations and the 'flight path' forward.
Then, we go on that first flight lesson - what you are at the controls, doing as much (or as little) as the flying as you would like. From there, the sky is the literal limit!
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Over a decade of experience as a flight instructor, helping clients achieve their goals in aviations: from the greenest of students to the most seasoned of professional pilots. Also broad industry experience as an aviation writer.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
There is a lot of factors that go into pricing a flight lesson (aircraft rental, instructor time, etc). Message me at cfi (at) check-six (dot) com to discuss
How did you get started teaching?
The old saying of "hang out at a barber shop long enough, soon enough you'll get a haircut" also applies to aviation. :-)
What types of students have you worked with?
From teenagers to the retired, and everyone in between. My favorite students/clients are folks who are working professionals who are finally making a long-standing dream of theirs into a reality. But anyone who wants to break free of gravity for a few hours is an ideal prospect!
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
Well - I set a Guinness World Record in February of 2020, for the longest 'wheelie' in an airplane, so that holds a special spot. But seeing my clients do what they once thought was impossible is always a special moment for me as an instructor.