John Niehaus
Judge
John Niehaus is the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) Director of Program Development. He has been with NAFI since 2011, and manages operations and programs throughout the association, including hosting their More Right Rudder podcast. John graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science Double Major in Aviation Flight Science and Aviation Administration. He holds an ATP MEL/Commercial SEL, CFI-CFII ASEL, and has several type ratings, the most recent of which is a Gulfstream G-VII earned in 2023. John has conducted flight instruction in many different environments 61/141 and also acted as a 135 training captain on Lear 45/75 models where he trained all new hire pilots and captain upgrades.
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Today, along with his NAFI duties, John works for a Fortune 500 corporate flight department, flying internationally on a Falcon 2000LXS and Gulfstream 600 models. He also has a passion for aviation outreach using his NAFI and corporate platforms to mentor and speak with young future aviation professionals at local high schools and universities with an aviation focus.
