Shane Vande Voort, owner of Classic Aviation in Pella, has been awarded as the Iowa Certified Flight Instructor of the Year. 

The award is presented by the Federal Aviation Administration’s FAAST Safety Team. The award was presented to Vande Voort in Des Moines late last month by David Hintz, a FAAST Team Manager for the Des Moines Flight Standards District Office. This is the second time that Vande Voort has received the award, previousing being named both Certified Flight Instructor and Safety Rep of the year in 2010. Vande Voort was nominated for the award by a group of peers and clients. 

Nominator, Ed Watters said, “Given all Shane’s other contributions to the aviation community as a flight school owner, and A&P, DPE, and FBO operator, we have been very fortunate to have him share his time with us and we believe he would be a most worthy recipient of the FAA National Flight Instructor of the Year” 

Vande Voort is now a potential candidate for the National Certified Flight Instructor of the Year. The 2026 National title will be announced in March. Vande Voort has been the Pella airport manager since 1999. He owns and operates Classic Aviation, which provides flight instruction, aircraft maintenance, pilot service, and FBO services.