Central Florida Business Aviation Association

10/01/2026

WHAT A DAY FOR BUSINESS AVIATION SAFETY!

Yesterday, the CFBAA Safety Committee hosted our 2nd Annual CFBAA Safety Standdown in Orlando!

This year’s theme, “From Good to Great: Advancing Safety in Small Flight Departments,” brought together business aviation professionals for a full day focused on safety, leadership, preparedness, and learning from one another.

Attendees had the opportunity to experience hands-on fire training with Aircare FACTS® Training Fire Trainer, tour the incredible CAE, Simcom by CAE training facility that we are fortunate to call home for this event, connect with our exhibitors and industry partners, and hear from an outstanding lineup of speakers.

Special thanks to our speakers which included:

Jason Starke, Ph.D. – Business Aviation Safety Consortium (BASC), discussing how small flight departments can build and scale an effective SMS.

Barry Ellis – Hop-A-Jet Worldwide Jet Charter, INC, joining Jenny Showalter – Showalter Business Aviation Career Coaching for a fireside chat sharing real-world lessons from an ERP activation after the loss of their Challenger in Naples, Fl.

Gina Shealy – Fireside Partners Inc., discussing how small flight departments can develop an Emergency Response Plan and be ready when it matters most.

We closed the day with an outstanding Flight Department Leadership Panel, moderated by Kristi Ivey, CAM – National Business Aviation Association, featuring:

Wesley Treco – Director of Aviation, NASCAR

Richard J. Greenwood – Chief Pilot, Hilton Grand Vacations

Scott Harris – Safety Officer, L3Harris Technologies

Throughout the day, attendees also had the opportunity to connect with representatives from organizations including TrainingPort.net, Dassault Falcon Jet, Bombardier, Gulfstream Aerospace, Air Charter Safety Foundation, CAE, World Fuel Services, National Business Aviation Association, and many more.

Thanks to Jamie Mcfadden and his team at Cuisiniers Catered Cuisine who kept everyone well fed throughout the day, and we wrapped everything up with our Wind-Down Happy Hour, giving attendees one more opportunity to network and continue the conversations from the conference.

Most importantly, THANK YOU to our sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, volunteers, and attendees who made this event possible. Events like this happen because our aviation community continues to support the idea that safety isn't just something we talk about—it is something we continually work to improve.

This one is going to be hard to top!

The CFBAA Safety Standdown returns in September 2027 at CAE, SimCom by CAE in Orlando. The exact date will be announced at a later date, so keep an eye out. You won't want to miss what we have planned for year three!

From Good to Great. Keep learning. Keep improving. Keep safety at the forefront.

09/22/2026

Is your flight department too small for an Emergency Response Plan? Wondering how to build an ERP that fits your operation and can scale as your department grows?

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Gina Shealy of Fireside Partners at next week’s CFBAA Safety Standdown!

Gina will share practical guidance on building an effective Emergency Response Plan specifically for the small flight department.

📅 September 30
📍 CAE, SimCom by CAE | Orlando, FL

Register now and reserve your spot at CFBAA.org!

09/21/2026

09/19/2026

A big thank you to all of our members who attended last week’s CFBAA Happy Hour in Melbourne! We had a fantastic turnout, including several students from the Florida Tech Business Aviation Association. It was great to see so many students excited about the future of our industry!

A special thank you to Nerd.Aero for sponsoring the event! If your aviation company needs custom software solutions, the team at Nerd.Aero can help.

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone next week in Orlando for our annual Safety Standdown. Don’t miss it! Learn more by visiting cfbaa.org

09/15/2026

We’re just two weeks away from the 2nd Annual CFBAA Safety Standdown at CAE, SimCom by CAE in Orlando!

Don’t miss an outstanding lineup of speakers, including Barry Ellis, Director of Operations at Hop-A-Jet, featured below.

Reserve your seat today by visiting CFBAA.ORG

09/03/2026

We’re less than four weeks away from the CFBAA 2nd Annual Safety Standdown, and we have a can’t-miss lineup of speakers including our first speaker of the day Jason Starke, Ph.D.!

Join us September 30th at CAE, Simcom by CAE in Lake Nona for a full day of education, collaboration, and networking with aviation professionals from across the region.

Space is limited, register today and secure your seat!

https://cfbaa.starchapter.com/meetinginfo.php?id=54&ts=1788351141

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08/31/2026

What an incredible afternoon for the Central Florida business aviation community!

Last week, the Central Florida Business Aviation Association (CFBAA) held our 7th Annual Membership Meeting in Orlando, bringing our members together to celebrate another year of growth, engagement, and investment in the future of our industry.

Our Annual Membership Meeting is an opportunity to update our members on what is happening throughout CFBAA, hear from our committee leaders, learn about upcoming initiatives and volunteer opportunities, recognize our scholarship recipients, and—most importantly—bring our aviation community together.

Celebrating Our 2026 Scholarship Recipients

One of the highlights of the afternoon was recognizing our 2026 CFBAA Scholarship winners. Through the support of our members, sponsors, the funds raised through our Annual Golf Classic, and the generous donation of an ATP-CTP course from CAE, CFBAA awarded more than $16,000 in scholarships and training opportunities this year.

We were also fortunate to welcome Jenny Showalter of Showalter Business Aviation Career Coaching and Christine Wetherell of Aviation Personnel International for a fireside discussion focused on today's evolving business aviation career landscape.

Their conversation explored careers from both the employee and employer perspectives, including hiring, networking, professional development, attracting and retaining talent, standing out in today's market, career transitions, burnout, and the challenges facing our workforce.

A special thank you to Hakar Torres for moderating the discussion and sharing his own perspective as a YoPro who recently navigated a successful job search. His firsthand experience brought another valuable dimension to an already engaging conversation.

A Very Special Surprise Guest

We were also honored to welcome flight instructor Emily Shelton, who recently demonstrated exceptional professionalism when she successfully executed an emergency landing of a training aircraft on Interstate 10 in Pensacola.

Emily was joined by our YoPro Chair, Dave Kollins, who previously trained Emily and moderated a discussion about the incident and the decisions that led to a successful outcome.

It was a powerful reminder of why training, preparation, and professionalism matter in aviation. Emily received a well-deserved standing ovation from the room, and CFBAA congratulates her on the way she handled a real-world emergency when it mattered most.

Finally, a huge thank you to the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority: Orlando International (MCO) and Executive (ORL) Airports and Judith-Ann Jarrette, A.A.E., ACE, IACE, and her team for once again welcoming CFBAA and hosting us at Orlando Executive Airport.

Seven years of bringing our aviation community together and we're just getting started!

08/31/2026

Congratulations to the CFBAA 2026 Scholarship Recipients!

Last week, during the Central Florida Business Aviation Association Annual Membership Meeting in Orlando, we had the privilege of recognizing our 2026 CFBAA Scholarship recipients, with five of our six awardees joining us in person to accept their awards.

CFBAA is incredibly proud to support the next generation of business aviation and aerospace professionals through our annual scholarship program. These scholarships represent an investment not only in each recipient, but also in the continued growth and strength of our industry.

Our scholarship program would not be possible without the tremendous support of our CFBAA members, sponsors, and industry partners. A significant portion of our scholarship funding is made possible through proceeds from the CFBAA Annual Golf Classic, along with generous industry contributions.

A special thank you to CAE for once again supporting our program through the generous donation of an ATP-CTP course, providing an incredible career-development opportunity for one of this year's recipients.

Congratulations to all of our 2026 scholarship winners! We are excited to follow your journeys and see where your careers in aviation and aerospace take you.

And to everyone who has sponsored, participated in, donated to, or supported a CFBAA event, thank you. You helped make these scholarships possible.

As we look ahead to 2027, our goal is to continue growing the CFBAA Scholarship Program and provide even more opportunities to the aviation and aerospace professionals within our membership.

Congratulations, Class of 2026!