Billy founded Community Aviation on the conviction that general aviation pilots deserve the kind of instruction the professionals get. He works by reverse-engineering what's already excellent into something newly built. That method produced the Learn-Do-Fly Training Standard, Flight Ops, and the Community Aviation MCP.
Community Aviation was founded on the primary conviction that the knowledge, wisdom and experience of the world's best practitioners belongs in the hands of every pilot. The execution of this vision, on a meaningful scale, has been elusive until now.
The Learn-Do-Fly Training Standard, authored by Rich Stowell and stewarded by Community Aviation, formalizes the collective wisdom into an open, evidence-based framework. Flight Ops operationalizes it for the schools and instructors who will deliver it. The Community Aviation MCP and open skills extend it to anyone building alongside us.
What began as a network of instructors and subject matter experts is becoming a veritable operating system for general aviation built on a second conviction: that general aviation can be safer, that flight training can be more effective, and that the dream that brought every pilot to aviation is worth protecting.
Rich Stowell is the author of the Learn-Do-Fly Training Standard — the open-source framework that everything Community Aviation builds on.
Rich Stowell took his first flying lesson in 1982 and began his career as a full-time flight instructor specializing in spin, emergency maneuver, and aerobatic training in 1987. He is a recognized subject matter expert in loss of control in light airplanes, the 2014 National FAA Safety Team Rep of the Year, and the 2006 National Flight Instructor of the Year. A 20-year Master Instructor, Rich is a Charter and Life Member of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators, and a 35-year member of AOPA, EAA, and IAC. He has logged 10,200 hours of flight time with 9,100 hours of flight instruction given, 34,700 spins, and 25,700 landings.
Stasi Poulos is the President and CEO of Mindstar Aviation, based at Leesburg Executive Airport (KJYO) in Northern Virginia. Mindstar is a leading developer of flight simulation software and hardware, providing advanced and affordable turnkey solutions for the general aviation market.
Stasi has been at the forefront of connecting flight simulation with real-world pilot training. He built software-driven solutions that integrate with platforms such as Microsoft Flight Simulator and Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D, extending high-fidelity simulation capabilities to flight schools, training centers, and individual pilots. He has worked alongside Billy Winburn and Community Aviation to integrate simulation into the Learn-Do-Fly training framework. He is a frequent presenter at EAA AirVenture and SAFE events on the use of simulation for pilot proficiency.
Jason Archer took his first flight at age 8. He is a professional educator with over 20 years of experience working in flight schools, planetariums, science centers, and aviation museums. He holds a degree in Astrophysics.
Jason is the Chief Flight Instructor at Berkshire Aviation at Great Barrington Airport (KGBR) and trains for Sport, Private, Instrument, Commercial, CFI, and CFII certificates. He specializes in complex, high-performance, and tailwheel instruction. He is a 2021–2022 AOPA Distinguished Flight Instructor and 2018 FAASTeam Rep of the Year for the BDL FSDO.
Martyn van Hoek brings an entrepreneurial and business development perspective to Community Aviation. With a background in Tech, media, and growth strategy, he has built and scaled companies internationally and focuses on partnerships, positioning, and turning innovative ideas into sustainable businesses within the aviation space.