An area flight instruction service is attracting eyes to its skies with an innovative approach that soars far above the rest of the industry.

Rather than hire a fresh, lightly seasoned flight instructor, flyADVANCED has recruited for its chief flight trainer the impressive veteran pilot who developed the flight department for Exton information modelling software leader Bentley Systems, started Philly’s Airshares Fractional Cirrus program and served as two charter companies’ captain.

Daniel Stegeman’s more than 11,000 flight hours and experience with 40 plane models represents an unparalleled advantage over the industry’s typical flight instructor, who starts just above the required minimum of 250 hours.

“flyADVANCED is taking action to be the leader in training,” CEO Regis de Ramel said in the hiring announcement. “We want to change the way people think about air travel, and Dan will be an integral part of our continued growth in that area.”

Stegeman will train aspiring pilots from flyADVANCED’s facility at Wings Field in Blue Bell.

“Many pilots have experience flying of one or two models of planes. It means that their instruction is very specific to the plane,” Stegeman said. “Pilots with wider experience in both hours flying and models flown teach differently. Imagine learning to drive a car but your lessons are geared to just one particular model. When you get in a different car, you can’t easily drive the new car. That approach limits you as a driver and as a pilot. We can do better, but it starts with managing the flight training process and the instructors in a different way.”