Jeff Kling

The National Association of Flight Instructors is proud to announce that NAFI member Jeff Kling has earned accreditation as a NAFI Master Flight Instructor.

Kling discovered his passion for flying at the age of eight when his aunt gave him a book about flying your own airplane with stories and pictures of the possibilities of having your own airplane. After reading the book cover-to-cover many times, Kling finally got to experience his first airplane ride with his dad’s boss, and became hooked. He was lucky enough to secure a regular seat to ride in that same plane throughout his early teen years. He vowed that someday he would learn to fly and own his own personal airplane.

After Kling graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, he could afford to learn to fly and earned his private pilot certificate in 1984. Kling holds FAA certificates for ATP (ASEL, AMEL, ASES), CFI, CFII, MEI, A&P mechanic, and UAS. A CFI for 26 years, Kling has given more than 10,000 hours of dual instruction. He is a FAASTeam Representative for the Houston FSDO and has volunteered for many organizations including Angel Flight, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Challenge Air, and NAFI’s Pilot Proficiency Center at Oshkosh.

Kling and his wife live in a private airpark in Friendswood, Texas and have owned the same Cessna 205 for almost 30 years. After eight years as a project engineer for the local power company, Kling spent 25 years in the United States space program as a Space Shuttle flight controller working in Mission Control, and in several management roles for the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. In 2011, he retired from the space program and turned to full time flight instruction. His former rocket scientist friends applaud him for “living the dream.” These days Kling is both the chief CFI and the chief mechanic at Kling Aviation, Inc., a small Houston, Texas area flight school that he and his wife have owned and operated since 2002. They provide training for all fixed wing certificates and ratings and specifically enjoy training and mentoring new flight instructors.