Flight instructor Max Trescott inducted into NAFI Hall of Fame

The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) has inducted Max Trescott into its Flight Instructor Hall of Fame. Trescott, who hosts the Aviation News Talk podcast and has contributed to FLYING Magazine since 2024, was named the 2026 Hall of Fame honoree during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July, with the formal induction taking place in August.

According to NAFI, Trescott has roughly 50 years of flying experience, holds four airline transport pilot certificates, and has logged around 11,500 hours of dual flight instruction. He was previously named National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year in 2008. NAFI's president and executive director, Brian Wynne, said in a statement that Trescott exemplifies the professionalism the Hall of Fame was established to honor.

Trescott told FLYING he views the recognition as being on behalf of flight instructors broadly, noting he has met many peers he considers equally deserving. He earned his CFI certificate on September 10, 2001, one day before the September 11 attacks, and has described his path into instructing as accidental, saying a friend's suggestion led him to pursue the certificate.

He is noted for extensive experience instructing on Cirrus aircraft, with close to half of his instructional hours logged on that manufacturer's airframes. Trescott holds type ratings for the Cirrus Platinum CSIP and the Cirrus SF50, as well as the Embraer Phenom 100, and also holds a commercial pilot certification for helicopters.