Brian’s phenomenal comeback story from laying near dead in the jungle of Southeast Asia, to later flying the world’s fastest, highest flying jet, has been the subject of numerous magazine articles and an inspiration to many. After 20 years and 5000 hours in fighter jets, Brian retired from the Air Force in 1990. He has authored five books on flying, for which he did all the writing and photography. 

Kevin Mead has been providing technical support for the PA46 fleet since the first Malibu rolled off Piper’s assembly line in 1984. Kevin founded Mead Aircraft Services, Inc in 1998. He has been the technical advisor for the MMOPA, an advocacy group for PA46 owners, since 1990, and has lectured widely in the US and Europe on PA46 maintenance topics. He has authored articles for the MMOPA Magazine, Pipers Magazine, and PA31 Magazine.

As a flight instructor and writer based in Seattle, specializing in IFR instruction in technically advanced (glass-cockpit) aircraft, Bruce enjoyed a 15-year career with Microsoft, where he was involved in designing six versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. He now owns a consulting company and is the  author of two books about using PC-based simulation to complement flight training, plus many features on various topics for aviation-focused periodicals.

Mr. Robert Winchcomb has been with Pratt & Whitney for over 28 years. He began his career as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician and working with the PT6A since 1985. He joined P&WC in 1994 as a Field Support Representative in Brisbane, Australia and moved within P&WC in various Customer Support Departments including; Field Support, Warranty, Service Center, Fleet Manager, DPHM and now a Manager with PT6A Customer Service. Robert’s specialities include P&WC Engine Diagnostics and PT6A Engine control rigging.

Jeff has always loved aviation and was able to start his aviation career while in the Marine Corps working on C-130 aircraft.  After the Marines he was able to work as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with an Inspection Authorization.  He also has his commercial license with a multi-engine rating.  He currently is the manager of customer development at Lycoming Engines.

Manuel “Manny” Casiano practiced general surgery for 23 years in Frederick, and then completed an MBA at Hood College in 2004. He served as a director on the Frederick Memorial Hospital Board for six years and later moved into an administrative role, serving as Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer for 14 years. Among other things, Manny plays an integral part in his accident reviews of the PA46 fleet.

Mr. McVinnie is a lifetime member of the Malibu/M-Class Owners and Pilots Association (MMOPA) and was recognized as a MMOPA Master Aviator in 2020. He worked as an associate instructor for the Malibu/Mirage Safety and Training Foundation (MMSTF) and currently serves on the MMOPA Safety Committee. David is an experienced PA-46 expert witness and conducts risk management briefings and accident analysis for MMOPA.

Paul Himes is President and Chief Executive Officer of Himes Associates, Ltd. Paul is an active pilot and flies his Meridian regularly in support of Angel Flight and additional charity benefits. He also enjoys travelling, photography, reading and scuba diving.

Dierk Reuter, is an accomplished pilot and a TBM owner and aeronautical engineer. Reuter, who uses his aeronautical background and engineering experience will bring us practical date in regards to flying our PA46 and P46T airplanes to improve safety in all regimes of flight, including the accuracy of landings while reducing unsafe flight conditions.

David is a 3rd Generation Aviator and a lifelong learner & mentor. He is passionate about faith, family, and flying.

Having been a CFI since 2005, David owns VisionAir — based in Denver — that conducts Insurance Approved Initial & Recurrent Flight Training in PA46, TBM, Citation CJs, routinely done in the Rocky Mountain environment. David is also a buyer & seller agent for owner pilot aircraft.

David has managed and been Safety Director for a fortune 100 company flight department that operated on of the first Gulfstream G500’s put into service He is a United A320 First Officer and soon to be United Pilot Instructor.

Dr. Scott Dennstaedt is a CFI and former NWS meteorologist and founder of the EZWxBrief progressive web app (ezwxbrief.com). He is the author of The Skew-T log (p) and Me and co-author of Pilot Weather: From Solo to the Airlines. For the last 25 years Scott has been teaching pilots at all experience levels how to minimize their exposure to adverse weather.

Larry Grant took delivery of Malibu N4319M in November, 1983 and has been flying it ever since. The adventures of this first production Malibu include many aviation speed records, non-stop flight to Paris , winner trans African air race, non-stop records coast to coast with no extra fuel. He is a lifetime member of MMOPA and was featured as “Meet Mr. Malibu” in the 2019 MMOPA magazine.

Mike Nichols serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Malibu M-Class Owners and Pilots Association (MMOPA) representing the interests of owners and pilots worldwide who fly Piper PA46 derivative (Malibu, Mirage, Meridian, M-Class, JetPROP and Matrix) aircraft. He also serves on the board of directors – as an independent director – of Volato, a fractional aircraft program, charter operator, and aircraft management company, and on the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Certified Aviation Manager Governing Board, chairing its marketing committee.

Prior to joining MMOPA, Nichols founded and led an aviation and business strategy consultancy, Flieger Strategies, LLC, and was a senior executive at NBAA where he worked for 18 years. During his tenure at NBAA, Nichols advocated for the business aviation industry on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule-making committees, effectively preventing the implementation of onerous regulations while facilitating those that enhance safety and operations; directed federal and state aviation tax policy and education initiatives; successfully lobbied state revenue agencies, IRS, Department of Treasury and the U.S. Congress for fair taxation treatment of ownership/operation of business aircraft; generated significant growth in NBAA’s conferences and seminars and regional forums lines of business; and led the team that produced ABACE – the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition – an annual business aviation trade show in Shanghai, China. Along with other forward-thinking initiatives, he created and was the principal author of the NBAA Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation Program which was designed to lead business aviation operations towards environmental sustainability objectives.

A life-long learner, Nichols earned the Certified Aviation Manager (CAM), Certified Association Executive (CAE) and Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) credentials. He is an active instrument-rated private pilot and owns a Grumman Tiger aircraft.

Bill Archer retired from a major airline as an Airbus Captain and has over 35,000 hours of flight time. He holds a master’s degree in Administration and Organization and maintains the following ratings: CFII Single and Multi-engine, ATP single and multi-engine, and several type ratings.

He began flight instructing in the late 1970’s, served as the Chief Flight Instructor for the University of Oklahoma, and was a DPE for OU in the 1990’s. While at OU we obtained a research grant to test all the GPS basic T approaches that are used today. For the past fourteen years he’s loved flying his 1984 PA46-310P, “Miss Molly Malibu,” and now owns a C80 681B Turbo Commander. Bill has over 7,000 hours of flight instruction in all makes of the PA-46 aircraft.

Bill has been married to Anita for 49yrs and we have two grown sons and four grandsons.

John Walters is a mechanical engineer who worked in critical service metal production for 45 years. He spent 17 years at Cameron Forged Products in technical and managerial positions, working on critical serviceing components and simulation of these very complex processes. Management responsibilities included production engineering, corporate and government projects.

John was Vice President at Scientific Forming Technologies Corporation from 1994 to 2019, responsible for sales, marketing, business development, technical support and training. SFTC developed the leading process simulation software in the metal forming industry worldwide.

A wide range of professional activities included technical committees in ASM and FIA. John was a speaker/presenter/session chairman in technical conferences and training workshops in North America and Europe for 25 years. He was a Trustee on the Forging Industry Education Research Foundation, and uthor (or co-author) of over 60 technical papers and articles.

John has competed in triathlons and runs since the mid 1980’s. He enjoys golf, cooking, gardening, and a wide range of hands-on home projects.

John has logged ~2500 hours since 2000, with ~850 in the PA46.

Growing up in Hungary (Eastern Europe) I always dreamed about flying airplanes; however we did not have the infrastructure and means to be around airplanes. In 1997, after graduating high school, I moved to the United States to study and play competitive hockey.

In the early 2000’s I finally took a discovery flight at a local airport, the second we lifted off into the 3D world I was ‘hooked’.

After earning my private, instrument and commercial certificates we purchased our first family airplane, Piper Cherokee Six; a few years later transitioned to our current PA46 Malibu. Combining my passion for teaching (knowledge transfer) and flying I earned my flight instructor ratings. I’ve flown over 2,300 hours of which over 1,000 is in the PA46airplanes.

My goal is to pass on the knowledge and experiences I gained over the years and make you a better, confident and safe pilot.

Our family resides in Des Moines IA , a convenient location for midwest clients. In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family, playing hockey, mountain biking, and skiing.