Meet Our Instructors

Michele comes from the heart of Ohio. If she had had a choice, she would have grown up in the mountains of Idaho! She made the best of her time in the Midwest, including playing Division 1 ice hockey for THE Ohio State University.

Inspired by her family of military aviators, she took her first flight and the stars aligned: she knew she wanted a career in aviation. While earning her private pilot's license in Ohio, she honed her navigation and pilotage skills flying from one farm field to the next. She pursued her instrument rating while getting a taste of density altitude in Colorado, and then found her way to Idaho in 2015 when she became Store Manager for The North Face and joined Ponderosa! She finished her instrument rating at KBOI, followed by her commercial, then her CFI. Michele trained with Tom Mahoney in the backcountry, and enjoys mountain flying with the narrow strips and short approaches!

Michele spends her free time flying, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, skiing, running, upland hunting or big game hunting with her husband in the mountains. Sometimes they do a combination of these at the same time! Michele is eager to pass on her knowledge and passion for aviation while flying smart and safe.

Ben grew up on a small farm in North-east Oregon. He remembers being fascinated by the crop dusters working the fields around his home and hearing his father talk about flying.

He pursued a career in healthcare as a registered nurse, moving to Boise and working for St Luke’s for 10 years. In his spare time he enjoyed skiing, kayaking, rafting and camping.

Ben was encouraged to pursue his lifelong interest in aviation by his wife in the fall of 2018. He left healthcare and began training at Silverhawk Aviation in Caldwell. Roughly 14 months later he had achieved his Private, Instrument, Commercial and CFI certificates. He went on to obtain CFI-I, Multi-Engine and MEI certificates over the next year. He is also high performance and tail wheel endorsed.

Ben loves to teach. He strives for the moment with a student where everything drops into place and confusing concepts become clear. He looks forward to helping pilots continue to improve and fulfill their dreams.

Brenden grew up in Weiser, Idaho, where his first job was trapping gophers on alfalfa fields. Growing up, his father and grandfather shared experiences that they had as pilots and it fueled his interest in aviation. After a discovery flight at Silverhawk he was hooked. Brenden has been instructing at Silverhawk for a year and a half now, and has enjoyed every second! Brenden's end goal with aviation is to be a captain at Southwest Airlines. In his free time, Brenden loves to ski, make music, and fly airplanes. Brenden is currently in the Idaho National Guard and also in a local band named Town of Trees. Motto: There’s no such thing as the future or the past, so always make now count!

After leaving the military, Chris went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ where he graduated with a degree in Aeronautics. After instructing for two years he was hired by Mesa Airlines, and moved to Boise in 2021. When not flying he enjoys spending his time outdoors.

Glenn's interest in aviation began in Scouts with paper airplanes. As a teenager, he designed and built remote control aircraft.

Over the course of a 22-year Navy career, Glenn focused on the repair and maintenance of high-performance military aircraft, while also being selected to serve as an instructor, and finishing a bachelor's degree.

After retiring from the Navy, Glenn worked for Boeing modifying C-17, A-10, B-1 and F-15 aircraft. He worked his way from private pilot to certified flight instructor and multi-engine pilot. He continues to fly charter flights, including into Idaho's backcountry.

Glenn tells his students, "If you desire a career in aviation, you can do it! Becoming a professional pilot requires focus, but it is extremely rewarding."

I grew up near Seattle, surrounded by aviation from a young age. My dad and I took a few glider lessons together in eastern Washington, and my bedroom walls sported a really cool 747 cockpit poster as well as (of course) the ubiquitous Top Gun magazine tear-outs (it was the 80s!). Later, my husband introduced me to flying small airplanes, and I was hooked.

I began flight lessons during our year at Osan Air Base in Korea. It was very different flying, I would later find out: lots of special VFR, poor visibility, and lining up to wait for A10s, F16s, and U2s. We moved to Tucson, AZ before I was able to complete my private pilot’s license, but once we were stateside I found a flying club in southern Arizona and resumed training.

Arizona flying was completely different from Asia flying, and I was so thankful to see the mountains from 100 miles away. My new instructor found it humorous that I had more actual instrument time than she did! I got my license when I was pregnant with my first child (you can imagine my DPE's reaction when he met me for my checkride!) and then took many years off from flying.

We moved to Boise in 2018 after my husband retired from the USAF, and I picked up flying again in 2020 at Ponderosa. I plan to teach here and work my way to bigger and faster airplanes with more buttons and switches.

I hope to see you at a PAC event soon. Blue skies!

Kaleb's aviation career started in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in aviation technology from Utah State University. While there, he also earned his A&P licenses. Kaleb spent the next 10 years maintaining aircraft, mostly Dassault Falcons and King Airs. This wasn't enough to satisfy his love for aviation, so he decided to pursue the career of a professional pilot.

Kaleb has a beautiful wife and four crazy kids, and he loves sharing his love of life and airplanes with his family. All his kids love flying and jump at the chance anytime they can.

Besides flying, one of Kaleb's favorite pastimes is rafting. He frequently rafts the Payette river to the north of Boise as well as many others around the area.

Kaleb loves to see others attain their aviation goals, so give him a call or shoot him an email if you're ready to pursue yours.

Max grew up in between the sunny beaches of San Diego and the waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene. His passion for aviation was passed on from his father, a Navy pilot and Airline Captain.

He began his flight training in San Diego, flying in busy airspaces, catching many sunsets over the Pacific Ocean. Over the past few years he obtained his PPL, Instrument rating, CSEL, CMEL, and CFI. After moving to Idaho full time, Max recently added on a Seaplane rating to his training.

Max now lives in Boise with his girlfriend and Border Collie pup. In his free time, he enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, and running marathons. He is excited to be flying and sharing his passion for aviation at Ponderosa.

Delta Airlines pilot Michael hails from Jacksonville, FL. He graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in aeronautical science, and 30 months of flight instruction experience. Since arriving in Boise in 2014, Michael has been discovering the abundant opportunities Boise has to offer for outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, camping and dirt biking.

Mike's love of aviation began while looking for a career change. A friend took him on a discovery flight and that was all it took. About a year later, Mike had his private pilot certificate in hand thanks to Glenn H and the Ponderosa team. Mike proceeded to earn more ratings during a stint of working in Wisconsin and has returned to Ponderosa as an instructor.

"I'm excited to share the satisfaction, fun and freedom of flying with my students...and can't think of a better home than Boise and Ponderosa Aero Club!"

Mike hails from the midwest and lived in several places before settling in Boise. Mike is also a lifelong cyclist and mechanic, so don't be surprised if you bump into him on the trails or find him underneath a car.

Steve’s love of flying began on a third-grade field trip to the local airport. It was years later, as an Air Force air traffic controller when he got to take several "familiarization flights" in some very cool airplanes. The first plane Steve actually controlled in flight was a T-33 jet trainer! He also logged some hands on time in a B-57 and a UH-1F helicopter.

It was 1976 at Strawberry Glen airport near the Western Idaho fairgrounds that Steve earned his private license. Over the next couple years, with the aid of the GI Bill, he continued flight training earning commercial and instrument ratings. After that, raising a family and job responsibilities limited his flying for a few years. Eventually, funds and time materialized and Steve earned his CFI rating. With a fresh CFI certificate Steve joined Ponderosa in 1988 as a part-time flight instructor.

In 2004 Steve left the corporate world and began his aviation career. While instructing full time at Ponderosa he began flying as a contract pilot for Conyan Aviation and Hawkins Companies. Eventually, Western Aircraft hired him to fly their awesome fleet of Pilatus PC-12's. Seven years and almost 3000 hours later Steve joined Jackson Jet Center as their Director of Operations.

Currently, Steve serves as a PAC checkout instructor and is available for annual flight reviews.

Ryan grew up in the Colorado Rockies, where he developed a deep love for nature and the outdoors. During his senior year of high school, he began pursuing a private pilot's license, flying out of Broomfield, CO. For college, Ryan moved to Bozeman, Montana, to attend Montana State University. There, he completed the majority of his aviation training, earning an Associate's degree in Applied Science in Aviation, along with his CMEL, CSEL, Instrument Rating, CFI, and CFII certifications. Ryan is currently finishing his Bachelor's degree in Finance online through MSU, with one year remaining. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, skiing, riding dirt bikes, and camping.

Tom Mahoney started flying gliders at the Air Force Academy at age 18. While flying as a Weapon Systems Officer in the Air Force, Tom worked on his civilian pilot ratings. He is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School and flew developmental test on F-111, EF-111, F-16, and F-15E aircraft. Tom has participated in the Ponderosa Aero Club for 17 years as a backcountry pilot, CFII, aircraft owner, and board member. He has 3,000 hours of combined civilian and military flight time. He is a part-time flight instructor helping out when needed to make Ponderosa Aero Club the best flight club in Idaho.

William Foote started flying in 2003 in a 1947 Taylorcraft BC-12D. He holds ATP-multi-engine land, Commercial Single-engine land and sea, Gold seal CFI, CFII and MEI certificates and ratings. He owns a 1957 Cessna 180A that he has flown in Alaska, Canada, and all over the northwest. The plane has skis for winter flying and straight floats for summer excursions! He has over 7500 hours of PIC time, 1100 hours of tailwheel, 3300 hours of dual given and several thousand hours of flying in Idaho’s central mountains.

He is currently flying King Airs for charter and medevac flights at Turbo Air. He has held positions as a Part 135 company instructor, check airman, chief pilot and director of operations. He was the principal back country training instructor and check airman at a 135 operation. He has extensive back country experience as a commercial charter pilot flying Cessna 172, 180, 182, 206 and 210 type aircraft.

He really enjoys sharing the Idaho mountains with pilots and helping them learn to operate safely in this challenging and rewarding environment. When asked what is his favorite airstrip and he will reply “all of them!” they each have unique challenges and rewards.