My Story

I grew up around aviation. My dad was a WWII pilot and CFI and started teaching me at age 15. I soloed a tailwheel aircraft on my 16th birthday (1971) then got my drivers license the same day. Literally I could fly before I could drive! A month later, my dad and I bought together a 1946 Taylorcraft BC12D (shown left). I achieved my private license in that aircraft at age 17. My seaplane rating came a month later, then instrument rating at age 19. Growing up and flying in Alaska, I had a unique privilege to fly many off-airport operations. It was a blast to say the least! I continued to fly until 1986 and stopped flying for 15 years, when I moved to Indiana. I had no reason to fly.

In December 1981, I began a 29 year career as an air traffic controller. I worked at Anchorage Center for 5 years, then Indy Center for 24 and retired from ATC in 2010.

In April 2001, I started flying again. I had an opportunity to do some corporate work so I did a BFR, IPC, Commercial, multi-engine rating, CFI and CFII in 8 months time. I started a flying club at KEYE and ran that for 4 years, teaching many students to fly.

Fast forward to 2010 when I retired. I continued to fly for Civil Air Patrol, then eventually started flying corporate aviation in 2016 as single pilot captain in twin Cessnas. I was recruited by Lift Academy to teach initial CFIs in January 2020 and became instrumental in setting up a successful initial CFI program. After evaluating 100 CFIs (with an 82.6% first time DPE pass rate), I was recruited to be a charter pilot with First Wing Charter flying the Citation Bravo. As much as I loved the Bravo, I could not balance charter life AND be a first responder for my aging father who was in assisted living. So, I went part-time but did not upgrade to captain as planned. I got recalled by Lift Academy and was asked to be a Chief Instructor. I oversee the initial CFI training/certification and do all the spin training for the school.

I have a fairly eclectic background in aviation. I’ve flown over 60 different types of aircraft. By far, my most favorite are tailwheels!

One of my aviation highlights was flying with the legendary Patty Wagstaff in January 2024. What a great experience! If you are ever in St. Augustine, I encourage you to fly with her school. You won’t be disappointed.

The best part of flying is simple stick and rudder skills. Teaching crosswind landings, forward slips, short field landings, spins and upset recovery is my MOST FAVORITE THING TO DO! I’m a CFI, CFII, MEI and AGI…but I really love stick and rudder.

Come fly with me. You will see why!

Robert Haynes
317-250-7213

ATP/CFI/CFII/MEI/AGI (+ certified tailwheel nut)