HEWISON AVIATION TEAM
Experienced Flight Instructors
The Hewison Aviation team is made up of highly experienced flight instructors who are passionate about flight training and committed to helping students of all ages become confident, capable pilots. Every flight instructor brings a minimum of 500 flight hours, with most having accumulated thousands of hours of hands-on aviation experience. This depth of knowledge and real-world expertise is one of the many things that sets our flight training programs apart.
At the heart of every curriculum is an unwavering commitment to safety, discipline, and the highest standards of performance. Our experienced flight instructors are dedicated aviation professionals who share a genuine passion for flying and the opportunity to pass that passion along to the next generation of aviators. Through frequent recurrent training, they continually refine their skills and stay focused on delivering exceptional instruction. Take a flight today.
Hewison Aviation 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.
The Hewison Aviation Team
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
Austin 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. He 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. He got his AGI in May of 2024, a few months after he got his private pilot certificate.
His 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
Brad is a Designated Pilot Examiner and has been a Pilot since 1993, CFI since 1996. He has over 12,000 hours of fixed wing time and brings the knowledge of the types of 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. He hope's that he 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 he was a little kid. His cousin would spot planes flying overhead and he began to wonder how does a plane stay airborne.
He attended ATP Flight School upon graduating from high school. Carl has been a pilot for 12 years. If he was to own a plane it would either be a Piper or a Cessna. Currently, He is a member of a flying club and regularly flies it's Cessna 172. He does look forward to sharing his love of aviation with those who he will instruct in the future.
Cameran Amphlett
CHIEF PARTY PLANNER
What does Cameron like? She loves being on the ground and directing people to their right destinations. Cameron loves working with the Hewison Aviation team to plan large parties and events. She loves recording the events and putting stories together about flying and having fun from them.
What she likes most about being Chief Party Planner is planning cute parties and bringing everyone together!
Chris Spencer
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI, CFII, MEI
Chris has been the Chief Flight Instructor at Hewison Aviation since 2019 at the South Albany Office.
Previously Chris was a First Officer - ERJ175 commercial pilot for SkyWest Airlines. He also was an Executive Officer (Brigade XO) and served the US Army for over 25 years. Chris is a graduate of Norwich University and holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). In 2018 he became a licensed Aircraft Flight Instructor. In 2019 he received his Airline Transport Pilot Certificate and in 2002 he received his Commercial Aircraft Pilot License. from the FAA.
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. Elyssa now possess a bachelor's degree in the science of aviation and technology.
Elyssa's hobbies include painting/drawing, taxidermy, herpitology, hiking, jeeping, and occassional bladesmithing. Her 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 her top priority, and she focus's on building a strong foundation in both technical skills and safe flight practices.
What she value's most about being a flight instructor is meeting students who share her passion for aviation. She loves helping others pursue their dreams and see them grow into skilled pilots.
Kevin Harrold
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI
Kevin loves airplanes. He has been flying professionally since 1987. Yes thats a long time! He retired from the Air Force as a C-141 flight engineer, followed by several civilian airlines. He just retired from Spirit airlines after 25 years of flying the Airbus.
Did we mention he love's airplanes? And that’s what he wants to pass on the same passion to you. LEARN TO FLY WITH KEVIN.
Marius Mazzeo
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CMEL, CSEL, INSTRUMENT
Marius started with Hewison Aviation as a Private Pilot Student in April 2023. He holds a B.S. From Carnegie Mellon University.
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
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 the ultimate goal of flying for the airlines. In the meantime, he enjoys flying.
He enjoys flying his club C172 (N9492H) around the North East. He welcomes any opportunity to fly in a new type of plane.
Stuart Curtis
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFII, CFI, AGI
With a degree in Mechanical Engineering from RPI, He initially envisioned a career focused on engineering. In 2020, He realized he wanted to take that technical background in a more hands-on direction, and aviation was the perfect fit. Flying allows him to combine his passion for engineering, problem solving, and hands on work while doing something he truly loves. There’s also something special to him about having the sky as your office and never having two days that are exactly the same. As a CFI, CFII, AGI what he enjoys most is helping students discover their confidence and develop their skills. Every student learns differently, and he strives to create a safe, supportive, and encouraging environment where students can learn in the way that works best for them.
Sunny Chiu
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI, CFII, MEI
Sunny's aviation journey began in 2018 and I’ve been a flight instructor since 2020. With a background in education, over 1,500 hours of dual instruction given, and experience in both Part 61 and Part 141 training, He loves helping students work toward their aviation goals.
Sunny believes every student is unique and learns differently, so he always try to find the best way to help each student learn and build confidence. His favorite part of teaching is watching my students grow and seeing their smiles, from their first solo flight to passing their checkride.
Thom Besch
FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR | CFI, AGI
Thom is a retired US Army officer. He got his Bachelor’s of Science from West Point, and his Master’s of Science from the Naval Postgraduate school. He earned my private pilot license in 1985. After a 25 year break, he started flying after his retirement and got his Instrument rating, Commercial license, Tailwheel endorsement, Multi, and Seaplane ratings. He finally got his CFI rating in 2025 and is excited to teach new pilots at Hewison Aviation.
He loves to fly and Is currently building a Zenith 750 experimental.
LOCATIONS:
HARRIMAN WEST NORTH ADAMS
836 State Road, North Adams, MA 01247
SOUTH ALBANY AIRPORT
6 Old School Road, Selkirk, NY 12158
GRIFFISS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
645 Bomber Drive, Rome, NY 13441
SARATOGA COUNTY AIRPORT
405 Greenfield Ave, Ballston Spa, NY 12020
Copyright © 2026 Hewison Aviation
SITE DESIGN: KARIANN MORRIS