Scott Tinnesand, a helicopter test and instructor pilot with 33 years of accident-free flying experience, is the recipient of the 2022 Helicopter Association International (HAI) Salute to Excellence W.A. “Dub” Blessing Flight Instructor of the Year Award.
Tinnesand, a lead flight instructor and experimental test pilot for Boeing’s Vertical Lift division, trains domestic and international pilots and conducts experimental test flights in the AH-64E Apache, A/MH-6M, and AH-6 Little Bird.
“There truly isn’t anything more satisfying than helping remove an obstacle keeping someone from achieving their dream," said Tinnesand. "I am so lucky to have the life I live.”
Tinnesand, who is also a designated pilot examiner (DPE), guides and teaches pilots after their practical exams, conducts free SFAR 73 checkouts for new CFIs, encourages females to apply for Whirly-Girls scholarships, and is always answering calls and texts from former students, airmen applicants, flight instructors, and professional pilots requesting assistance.
A part of the Arizona DPE Advisory Group and the Phoenix Airspace User’s Work Group, he speaks at local and national training and safety seminars.
He learned to fly helicopters in the U.S. Army ROTC program at the University of North Dakota. After Army flight school, he became an AH-1 Cobra and AH-64 Apache pilot and served for eight years, ending with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
Before joining Boeing in 2011, Tinnesand worked as a gyroplane test and instructor pilot at Groen Brothers Aviation and as an EMS helicopter pilot.
He credits the mentorship he received at Groen and Boeing with propelling his career.
