Flight Instructors
The Team
We All Love What We Do
Alpha One’s flight instructors will take you from zero flight time to being a fully qualified private pilot or any other rating you are pursuing
Chris Hyldburg -President
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Chris founded Alpha One after attending Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
John Greenlaw – Chief Pilot
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
John is our Chief Pilot and he has over 16,000 flight hours and attended Umass Boston.
Renee Taft
CFI
Renee completed her training at Westfield State, has over 1500 flight hours and over 1100 hours of instruction given.
Justin Brochu
CFI, CFII
Justin has over 1000 hours and completed his training after graduating from Bridgewater State
Mike Milch
CFI, CFII, MEI
Mike completed his flight training at ATP Flight School in Norwood, MA with aspirations to one day fly for a major airline. Prior to aviation, he worked multiple blue-collar jobs and served four years in the United States Marine Corps.
Chris Howell
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Chris learned to fly in 90s at New Bedford, and continued on at Alpha One. His flight experience includes 6000 hours total and 4000 hours of dual instruction given.
Joe Thacher
CFI
Joe graduated from Embry Riddle in 2010 with a Bachelors in Aeronautical Science where earned his flight ratings. He has been flying at Alpha One for two years.
Scott Jansen
CFI
I started my flying career in 2020 right here at Alpha One! I love flying all different types of aircraft’s and inspiring people to learn to fly. In my off time you can find me hiking or skiing in the mountains.
Kevin Costa
CFI, CFII, MEI
Kevin has been flying since 1994 and he has over 1900 flight hours with 1300 flight instruction given.
Dave Sanford
CFI, CFII
Dave attended UMass Amherst, have been flying since 1984 and have over 2000 flight hours with 1500 of flight instruction given.
Buddy Macdonald
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
I obtained my private pilot’s license in January 1973 and worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 29 years as an Air Traffic Controller. After retiring from the FAA, I began my second career with Alpha-1 in 2007. My mentors are Chris Hyldburg, Tom Sommerville and Jon Greenlaw. As you begin your adventure remember, “Takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory.”
Eric Brunelle
CFI
Eric has been flying since 1990 and has over 1500 hours of flying experience. Eric is a graduate of Bridgewater State College and Lesley University.
Bruce L. Vinal
CFI
Bruce started flying when he was 14, soloing on his 16th birthday. He graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2018 and has flown in various skydive and aerial survey operations. He has over 1400hrs of flight experience.