Our Instructors
Centennial instructors are chosen for their dedication to the teaching profession. They are individuals for whom teaching is a career and a passion. Their focus is to provide you, the student, the best possible instruction that will allow you to progress rapidly while also attaining a high level of skill and ability.
Our Chief Flight Instructor has over 20 years of combined flight instruction and charter flying and conducts bi-weekly training sessions for the instructors to maintain high standards and continuity among instructional staff. The instructors teaching the multi-engine and IFR courses have a minimum of 1000 instructional hours.
Joe Amelia
Joe is our Chief Flight Instructor and also the Operations Manager. He has 30 years in the business as an instructor, pipeline inspection pilot and charter pilot. He has been involved with the ownership and management of Centennial in various capacities since 1983.
Along with all of his day to day activities he is also a Pilot Examiner for PPL, CPL and IFR. Joe is a noted IFR authority and conducts the groundschool portion of our IFR course.
Alvin Erickson
Alvin is a Class 1 instructor and teaches Private, Commercial, Multi-Engine, IFR and Instuctor ratings. Retired from the Canadian Armed Forces, he has been a pilot for more than 40 years and an instructor for the past 12.
Much of his flying has been done on the West Coast and in the B.C. interior. This experience is very beneficial to our renters and students that desire a mountain checkout. Alvin uses his wealth of experience to provide the Mountain Check pre-flight groundschool as well as the in-flight instruction that opens up incredible new vistas for our customers.
Dave Harper
Dave is a class 3 Instructor teaching the PPL, CPL and Night Ratings. He also provides instruction for the Multi-Engine and IFR ratings.
Outside of instructing Dave is an accomplished professional rugby player which has taken him world wide. Dave is also a certified deep sea diver taking him on many adventures in Thailand. His focus and drive is easily passed on to students through his teaching.
Fred Jolivet
Fred is a Class 2 instructor and teaches PPL, CPL, ME and IFR. He's been instructing for 10 years at Centennial. During that time he has received his B.Eng and Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the UofA.
He brings a wealth of personal flying experience having flown numerous trips across Canada and through the US. As well, he has flown in the mountains in Europe and worked a summer as a sky-dive pilot in central B.C. bordering the Rockies. Fred effectively mixes his varied flight experience with his extensive knowledge-base while presenting in our own groundschool classes.
Lawrence Lau
Lawrence is a class 4 instructor and teaches Private, Commercial and the Night Rating. He started flying with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in 2005 and has received his Glider and Private Pilot's Licence through Cadet scholarships.
Lawrence has also received his Bachelor of Commerce Degree at the University of Alberta and is fluent in Cantonese and knowledgeable in Mandarin and Japanese. He has experienced training with a number of different flight schools in Canada, and is familiar with a variety of different styles and methods of teaching to bring out the best in his students.
Mickey McNeil
Mickey is a class 4 instructor, teaching the PPL, CPL, and Night Rating. Trained at Centennial, he brings a solid work ethic and commitment to his students.
With an affinity to the outdoors and experience working as a mechanic in his father's shop, flying and operating airplanes comes naturally to Mickey.
Bruce Ritchie
Bruce is a Class 3 instructor who mixes his love of flying with the ongoing pursuit of new business and the steady improvement of the existing business. A flexible schedule and a strong belief that the student comes first allows Bruce to schedule business duties around the needs of his students.
Combining experience from the corporate world of training, years of coaching minor sports and a love of learning, Bruce is always ready to take the additional time and put in the extra effort to insure that students progress as rapidly as possible.
Rob Wright
Rob is a Class 1 instructor and our Thursday night Private Pilot groundschool instructor. He came to aviation following a successful career in senior management positions developing and implementing corporate training programs. It was finally the right time to pursue his passions and avocations - flying and scuba diving.
With a training background, strong communication skills and a desire to teach both flying and scuba, what better way to share his knowledge and enthusiasm.