About Hewison Aviation and our Flight Instructors
Our institution’s philosophy is to provide students with the best possible opportunity to gain the knowledge, skills, experience, and judgment required of a quality education in aviation. Our goal is to provide the resources that will assist each student in reaching his or her ultimate potential of becoming a private pilot, professional pilot and/or flight instructor.
HISTORY
The thought of Hewison Aviation began when Chris was a young boy and found his love of adventure in the sky. From the time he was a child, Chris watched his father, who was a private pilot, enjoy his love of aviation. Chris’ uncle, Richard Hewison, was a fighter pilot in the Korean war, and seeing pictures of his flying accomplishments always put a smile on Chris’s face and does to this day. This developed a lifelong drive for fulfillment to be in the clouds. Getting his CFI in 2014 and starting Hewison Aviation as a flight training center of excellence fulfilled a life-long dream to help others share Chris’ love for aviation and the people that fly planes.
HALLMARK
The hallmark to our success is providing highly experienced instructors that teach for the joy of expanding aviation and seeing students succeed. Our instructors are not freshly minted CFIs. They are career aviation professionals and enthusiasts. This is what sets us apart from the other schools.
OUR TEAM
Our staff consists of experienced aviation professionals of all ages. We are confident we have an instructor that will work for you! All of our instructors have over 500 hours of flight time, and most have thousands. The experience level of our staff is another of the many factors that sets us apart from the competition.
The one common element in each of our curriculums is a high standard of performance for both instructors and students. Each of our instructors is highly experienced and working in the profession purely for the love of aviation and the opportunity to share their passion for flying with others. They are required to undergo frequent recurrent training. Every student is instilled with, and is required to bring, a disciplined attitude toward aviation. The end result is a safe and pleasant training experience and a well-prepared aviator.
LEADERSHIP
Christopher Hewison
OWNER | CHIEF PILOT | CFII
Being involved with the aviation community is a dream come true! Since I was young, flying with my dad and meeting pilots at the airport, I always enjoyed our flying experiences together and couldn’t wait for the next time we got to go “up.”
Now I get to share my love of aviation and teach those that are like minded and work with an amazing team of aviation enthusiasts that represent the best-of-the-best.
Maura Hewison
OPERATIONS MANAGER
When Chris and I went on our first flight together, the first feeling I had was the joy and exhilaration and of being part of something special. I had never had a chance to fly in a single engine airplane before and my first experience put a huge smile on my face and I wanted to share this with everyone.
When we started the Flight Academy I knew I had a new calling and could help people become pilots.
Allyssa Staley-Ross
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT & SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
Allyssa runs the background tasks that help keep our flight school running, as well as managing our social media pages. She is a feet on the ground type person and has flown in one of our aircraft once and that was enough for her.
You’ll often see her son Malcolm around the South Albany Airport. She is the cornerstone to keeping everything running smoothly in and around the FBO.
Ajay Raghavendra
ASSISTANT CHIEF INSTRUCTOR | GOLD SEAL FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | MEI, CFII,
Ajay Raghavendra is a B-737 first officer with a U.S. airline and a rated UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter pilot/aviation officer with the U.S. Army (New York National Guard). He holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from SUNY-Albany and graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla. campus) with a B.S. in Meteorology and Computational Mathematics.
Ajay also flew an ERJ-175 for a U.S. regional airline and a Cessna 340 for a cloud-seeding program. Ajay is a strong advocate for aviation safety and education in the general aviation community.
Austin Sicko
GROUND INSTRUCTOR | AGI
I first got interested in becoming a pilot after my first flight in a small plane. It was a sightseeing flight in a Cessna 172 out of Chatham Municipal Airport KCQX. I started training for my private pilot’s license with Hewison as I wrapped up my bachelor’s in business management from Siena College in 2023. I got my AGI in May of 2024, a few months after I got my private pilot certificate.
My favorite parts of flying are the views and sharing the experiences with passengers who are new to the aviation world.
Brad Sulik
CHECK INSTRUCTOR | DPE | GOLD SEAL FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | MEI, CFII
Pilot since 1993, CFI since 1996 With over 12,000 hours of fixed wing time, Brad brings the knowledge of type ratings in DA50, MU300, GV, GVI, and GVII to the table.
Brad enjoys helping people achieve their goals of learning to fly. Teaching and shaping future pilots is a great way to give back to aviation. I hope that I can promote general aviation safety and inspire other pilots to do the same.
Carl Breazzano
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFII
Carl’s flying journey began at a New York City coffee shop when I was a little kid. My cousin would spot planes flying overhead and I began to wonder how does a plane stay airborne.
I attended ATP Flight School upon graduating from high school. Carl has been a pilot for 12 years. If I was to own a plane it would either be a Piper or a Cessna. Currently, I am a member of a flying club and regularly fly its Cessna 172. I look forward to sharing my love of aviation with those who I will instruct in the future. I would like to thank my friends and wife for the continued encouragement to pursue my dream.
Cameran Amphlett
CHIEF PARTY PLANNER
What I like about aviation is being on the ground, and being at the destination, The team is great and I love planning parties and events for all of us to get together and share stories about flying and having fun.
What I like about being Chief Party Planner is planning cute parties and bringing everyone together!
Elyssa Enslin
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI, CFII, MEI
Elyssa is a prior military captain, having served 10 years as Security Forces/military law enforcement with a specialty in heavy weapons systems for the Nevada Air National Guard. I then obtained my CFI, CFII, and MEI a year after seperation. I now possess a bachelor’s degree in the science of aviation and technology.
I have hobbies that include painting/drawing, taxidermy, herpitology, hiking, jeeping, and occassional bladesmithing. My goal as an instructor is to build a safe pilot around their passion for flight, only enhancing the love for the field even further.
Hyeyeon Choi
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFII, CFI, AGI
Hyeyeon began her aviation journey in 2018 and became a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) in 2020. Safety is my top priority, and I focus on building a strong foundation in both technical skills and safe flight practices.
What I value most about being a flight instructor is meeting students who share my passion for aviation. It’s incredibly fulfilling to help others pursue their dreams and see them grow into skilled pilots.
John McCormick
CHECK INSTRUCTOR | CFII
When I was 3 years old, I saw the Shamu 737 beside me at the airport, and was hooked. I KNEW I wanted to fly that plane! 16 years later I took my first solo. 3 more years to get my commercial. 13 more years before I could get my CFI. I’ve been teaching since 2019.
My first solo student was kept up in the pattern, circling, waiting on Phenoms & KC-135s, for 1.3 hours. The way she handled that gave me more pride and job satisfaction than any other job I’ve had. I have a B.S. in Aeronautics (non-RATP), and an MBA in Cybersecurity Management. I also fly a paramotor.
Kevin Harrold
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI
I love airplanes. I’ve been flying professionally since 1987. I retired from the Air Force as a C-141 flight engineer, followed by several civilian airlines. I just retired from Spirit airlines after 25 years of flying the Airbus.
Did I mention I love airplanes? And that’s what I strive to pass on to you-the love of flying.
Kai Cheng
CHECK INSTRUCTOR | GOLD SEAL FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFII, MEI
Former Part 141 check instructor at an accredited aviation college. With over 1,500 hours of dual given, I have signed off 18 students—17 of whom passed their checkrides on the first attempt. I have experience instructing students across all levels, including Private Pilot (PPL), Instrument Rating (IR), Commercial (CPL) single- and multi-engine, as well as CFI, CFII, and MEI.
What I love most about being a CFI is helping students achieve their aviation dreams. I believe every student learns differently, so I adapt my teaching style based on their background, strengths, and learning needs. My goal is always to create a supportive and flexible learning environment.
Marius Mazzeo
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CMEL, CSEL, INTRUMENT
Marius started with Hewison Aviation as a Private Pilot Student in April 2023. He holds a B.S. From Carnegie Mellon University
Rowan Braga
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI
I have been flying for about 4 years now with my CFI being completed in early 2024 down near Charlotte, North Carolina. I left New York in 2021 after finishing school at SUNY Binghamton for political science. While in pursuit of a law degree, I fell in love with aviation and the idea of flying around to exotic destinations & having new adventures.
After returning to NY following completion of flight school, I began to work here at Hewison Aviation as an Instructor where I am privileged to see students succeed in their own conquest of the air! A dream people once thought impossible, aviation is a very rewarding field of continuous safety, learning, adaptation, and exciting new challenges everyday which makes me excited to teach the next great generation of pilots!
Ryan Tong
MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR | C-MEIL
Keeping the airplanes going is what Ryan does second best. Flying his cub is first. Ryan started out as a student with Hewison Aviation and is now building his hours and working as a mechanic.
As a Multi-Engine, Instrument rated Commercial Pilot, Ryan loves to fly out of grass strips in his bright yellow Piper Cub and give friends rides whenever he can. Flying since 2006.
Skyler Friedman
NORTH ADAMS AIRPORT MANAGER, AGI
Skyler started with Hewison Aviation as a student. His favorite parts of aviation are the moments before rotation, steep banks and piercing through the clouds. He thinks flying is the single coolest human experience. He has ran ultimate goal of flying for the airlines. In the meantime,
He enjoys flying his club C172 (N9492H) around the North East. I also welcome any opportunity to fly in a new type of plane
Sunny Chiu
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFII, MEI
I’ve been a pilot since 2018 and I’ve had my CFI certificates since 2020. After instructing for a while, I have found three things that I most enjoy about the profession:
The best part of being a flight instructor is helping my students succeed. The best view is the spark in their eyes when they gain confidence. The best reward is the privilege of sending a student solo and seeing their smile afterward.
Thom Besch
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI, AGI
I’m a retired US Army officer. I got my Bachelor’s of Science from West Point, and my Master’s of Science from the Naval Postgraduate school. I earned my private pilot license in 1985. After a 25 year break, I started flying after my retirement and got my Instrument rating, Commercial license, Tailwheel endorsement, Multi, and Seaplane ratings. I finally got my CFI rating in 2025 and am excited to teach new pilots.
I love to fly and I’m currently building a Zenith 750 experimental.