About Lee Elson CFII

Lee Elson began flying in 1981. He moved through the usual Cessna and Piper trainers and low performance models before discovering, in 1987, that a Beech Bonanza offered the right combination of speed and comfort for his family. In that year, he and his instrument rated wife bought into their first A36. As of 2008, more than 1500 of his 2800 hours are in the Bonanza, with many of those hours spent on trips between the West coast and a family vacation cabin in northern Vermont. Lee takes an active role in the maintenance and refurbishment of their A36 and has acquired an extensive set of resources of value to the Bonanza owner/operator/pilot.

In 1998, Lee became a flight instructor and, since then, has participated in a variety of training activities on a regular basis. These activities range from instructing primary students in trainers, to instrument and CFI candidates in high performance aircraft, to organizing and teaching ground school classes. He has taught Bonanza owners as part of a well regarded recurrent training program in Pennsylvania, and he has a special exemption from the FAA for providing instruction in aircraft equipped with a throw-over yoke. As of 2008, he has accumulated more than 850 hours of dual given and he has a 100% success rate for first time practical test takers whom he has trained.

Lee has been educated in the physical sciences, having earned a master's degree in physics and a Phd in atmospheric sciences. As both a pilot and an atmospheric researcher for many years, his knowledge of weather is both practical and professional. Combined with an extensive knowledge of the Web, he is able to provide trainees with a valuable set of weather resources.