Become a Better Flight Instructor Today.

 Michael “Todd” Shellnutt grew up in a small town just South of Atlanta by the name of Columbus, GA.  It was only in 2000 that Todd realized his dream of flying and then decided on a career in aviation. He attended Southeastern School of Aeronautics in Macon, GA, where he obtained all of his pilot and instructor ratings, then later became the Chief Pilot of a local school in the Columbus area, bringing him back home to study his trade.

After years of working in the industry as a flight instructor, corporate pilot, and even ferrying small single aircraft to Europe across the North Atlantic Ocean, he decided to open his own flight school. “I’ve just seen too many issues in this industry”, says Shellnutt, “problems that can be easily fixed without a lot of effort”.  He goes on to talk about instances in which the red tape was just too thick to cut in order to satisfy the customer’s needs. “There has to be an easier way to give the client what they want, and still be able to create the profit margins necessary to keep the doors open.” The result was Skyline Flight Training Academy.

After years of operation, Shellnutt was able to sell his business model to another company, which continues to run the same successful school in another state. Before the sale, Shellnutt was able to achieve FAA 141 accreditation, VA Funding Reimbursement approval, and was soon to open the gateway of SEVIS accreditation, which would have increased the total number of flight students at the school to well over 100, increasing fuel sales and the local airport and helping to increase the local economy.

Todd currently works for the largest flight school in the world, ATP Flight School, where he proudly serves as their Flight Standards Manager. ATP currently serves over 2400 students at over 84 locations across the US. They employ over 700 instructors, have over 500 airplanes, and fly more than 35,000 flight hours each month.

Todd is an FAA Gold Seal Instructor, a National Association of Flight Instructors Master CFI, an FAA Aviation Safety Team (FAAST) member, and AOPA’s 2015 Best Flight Instructor award recipient. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Science and a Master’s in Leadership & Management from Liberty University.