James “Steve” Rutland

This is Rutland’s 12th NAFI Master Accreditation. Rutland is a professional pilot and flight instructor with 50 years of aviation experience, beginning in 1973 at Murray, Kentucky. He completed his first FAA flight instructor certificate in 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Rutland attended the U.S. Army flight school in 1975 and is a Master Army Aviator. He is also a U.S. Coast Guard aviator, having served as a search and rescue pilot stationed in Los Angeles, California. Rutland has 38 years of experience as a government civilian flight instructor for the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence in Fort Novosel, Alabama.

Rutland holds three airline transport pilot ratings (ASEL, AMEL, and helicopter), five FAA flight instructor ratings (CFI-ASEL, AMEL, helicopter, CFII airplane and helicopter), and two type ratings. At Fort Novosel, Rutland completed ten different military instructor pilot courses. He has flown 27 different aircraft, with 21,000 accident-free flight hours. Rutland has almost 20,000 hours in the cockpit training flight students — 17,250 in flight and 2,200 in full motion simulators. He has almost 40 years in the classroom teaching ground school and has served as a mentor to countless military and civilian flight instructors.

Rutland has trained officers from the five branches of the United States armed forces. He has trained military flight students of every rank from warrant officer candidate to Master warrant officer five, and from second lieutenant to colonel. Flight instruction programs taught include primary, instrument, combat skills, aero scout, night vision goggles, advanced aircraft, and instructor pilot qualification in five different military aircraft. He has served as a UH-60 standardization instructor pilot and instrument flight examiner.

Working part-time under 14 CFR Part 141 and 61 flight schools, he has trained airplane single and multiengine land student pilots for private, commercial, instrument, airline transport pilot, and CFI, CFII, and MEI certificates.

Over his career, Rutland has earned awards including the Embry-Riddle Alumni Achievement Award, three-time FAA Regional Flight Instructor of the Year, Department of the Army Civilian of the Year Award, Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award for 28 years of service, Order of St. Michael Award for significant service to Army aviation, and the Sikorsky Helicopter Rescue Award.