Meet the Instructors

Douglas Carmody
Douglas Carmody
OWNER – INSTRUCTOR
All Aircraft and Simulators. DPE- CE-500, CE-510, CE-525, CE-560XL
LOCATION
Beaufort, SC
TRAVEL
Worldwide (very limited availability)

Douglas Carmody is a former airline Captain with over 30,000 flight hours. He has over 40 years of instructional experience in turbine powered aircraft. Along with being an instructor, he is the author of 25 aviation books and numerous magazine articles. He holds FAA ATP – Airline Transport Pilot, Commercial – Helicopter, Recreation – Gyrocopter, Flight Engineer – Turbojet , A&P Mechanic, FAA Gold Seal CFI, CFII, MEI. TYPE RATINGS include: A-320, B-767/737/757, BE-300, CE500/510/525/650/560XL, CE-650SIC, DC-9, EMB-110, FK-28, & F-100.

Lee Gentile
Lee Gentile
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
CE-500 and BE-90/200
LOCATION
Muscle Shoals, AL
TRAVEL
USA

Lee is an experienced instructor with more than 3,800 hours in the T-1, T-6, T-37, T-38 and A-10. He joined the EFT team in March 2024 as a Citation and King Air instructor and assumed the role of Director of Operations in August 2024.

Lee retired from the USAF in 2022 after commanding a flying training squadron and a flying training wing. He brings a wealth of operational knowledge about large flight schools that be vital to EFT’s future.

Lex Brown
Lex Brown
FLEET MANAGER
PC12 TBM In-Aircraft and Simulator
LOCATION
Beaufort, SC
TRAVEL
USA

Lex is a seasoned flight instructor having logged over 4500 hours flying FA-18 Hornets for the Marine Corp. He was a FA-18 Squadron Commander at MCAS Beaufort and retired as Colonel in 2014.

Lex joined Executive Flight Traning in 2016 and is our lead instructor for Pilatus PC-12 and Daher TBM training programs. He has transitioned his military training techniques to create a unique instructutal style that can be condensed to three words: Brief, Execute, Debrief. Clients enjoy this structured, easy to understand training method that results in making them safer, more proficient pilots.

He is licensed in single and multi-engine airplanes as an ATP, CFI, CFII-MEI

Bob Rutherford
Bob Rutherford
INSTRUCTOR
CE-525 Aircraft and Simulator.
LOCATION
Beaufort, SC
TRAVEL
Worldwide

Bob Rutherford, specializes in airborne operational issues, from flight test, flight training, aircraft safety, and aircraft certification (icing). Holding several patents on aircraft de-ice systems and as a member of the NASA icing research team both as a technical director and a research pilot. Bob is accomplished public speaker and educator, addressing aircraft industry groups on various topics specializing in-flight icing, and fight training. Bob is a traveling instructor and sim instructor for Executive Flight Training conducting initial flight training in the CE-525.

Lee Smith
Lee Smith
INSTRUCTOR
CE-525, 510 Aircraft.
LOCATION
Lexington, NC
TRAVEL
USA

Lee Smith has been flying corporate fixed wing and rotorcraft for over 27 years. He has been instruction for 25 years and has been providing Citation Initial Type Training for the last 10 years. He currently provides “In Aircraft” instruction in the Citation Mustang and Citation CJ series aircraft for Executive Flight Training. He is qualified in the Citation Mustang, Citation Jet, XL, Sovereign, Latitude, and the Eclipse Jet.

Richard Whittemore
Richard Whittemore
INSTRUCTOR
In Aircraft CE-525 -Initial
LOCATION
KTYS
TRAVEL
Worldwide

Richard holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate for Airplane Multi /Single-Engine Land, Rotorcraft- Helicopters and Commercial pilot privileges for Airplane Single Engine Sea. He is type rated in the CE-525(s) and Hawker 800/900 series, along with SIC type ratings in the Citation XLS+. He is a Gold Seal Flight Instructor for Airplane Single- and Multi-engine fixed-wing and Helicopter as well as Instrument Instructor for Airplane and Helicopter. His background includes flying floatplanes in the Amazon jungle, and worldwide Citation operations. He provides initial flight training in the Citation CJ series for EFT.

John Bretagna
John Bretagna
INSTRUCTOR
All King Air series aircraft
LOCATION

TRAVEL
Worldwide

John has over 30 years of flying and instructional experience including a combat tour in the F-18. While in the Marine Corps, John was a lead instructor and check pilot on the Beechcraft King Air series and flew numerous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in the King Air 200 and 350. In addition to contract instruction for Executive Flight Training, John also flies for a major US airline. He is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a degree in Aeronautical Science with over 7,500 hours of turbine experience. He is the author of many safety reports and apparently grows a Fu Manchu on his off days.

Jordan Hedges
Jordan Hedges
INSTRUCTOR
PC-12
LOCATION
Beaufort, SC
TRAVEL
Local

Recently retired from the Marine Corps, Jordan has been flying and instructing for over 15 years. While in the Marine Corps he instructed in the AV-8B Harrier and the F-35B Lightning II. Jordan has accumulated 1500 hours in multiple aircraft types. Jordan joined the Executive Team in the summer of 2021 and currently instructs in the Pilatus PC-12.

Bob Peterson
Bob Peterson
INSTRUCTOR
King Air 200 and 350
LOCATION

TRAVEL
USA

Bob’s flying Career began at Southern Illinois University in 1986 in the Aviation Flight/Management program, flying multiple single and light twin general aviation aircraft.

His military background spanned 28 years of service to include 26 continuous years of flying Marine F/A-18 fighters and the King Air Series (UC-12) Aircraft. In addition to his Fighter Experience, Bob was the Marine Corps’ Lead Standards and Evaluation Check Pilot for the King Air 200 for over 12 years, providing Standardization, Evaluation and Instruction for Marine Corps and Navy BE-20 units and their pilots worldwide.

Bob’s commercial flight experience also includes over 20 years of Part 121 flying with a Major International Cargo Carrier, flying Boeing 727 and 757/767 Heavy Jet transports.

His Ratings/Certificates include ATP, MEI, MEI (I), Turbojet Flight Engineer with Multiple Heavy Jet and Turboprop Type ratings.

Bob has been an Instructor with Executive Flight Training since 2015 where he specializes in instructing in all the King Air series aircraft.

Jake Patrick
Jake Patrick
INSTRUCTOR
King Air 200 and 350
LOCATION

TRAVEL
USA

Jake has nearly 20 years of aviation experience in both the civilian and military communities. He has over 9,000 flight hours and has flown over 100 aircraft and has been an active flight instructor for 17 years. He has experience in cargo operations (Cessna 208), military (F/A-18E), corporate (part 91, 135, and 91K), ag (Air Tractor 402/502), aerial firefighting (Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss), flight test (Phase I and EASA/FAA Validation) and flight training owning multiple flight schools and developing over ten training programs for single and multi-engine aircraft. Jake holds an ATP AMEL with Commercial privileges in ASEL, ASES, AMES, Glider, and Helicopter as well as type ratings in the CE-500, HA-420, and Experimental Authorization in the S-211. As a flight instructor, Jake holds CFI/CFII/MEI airplane and CFI/CFII in helicopter as well as AGI and IGI with over 4,000 hours of dual given in over 60 different aircraft and has instructed pilots at Private up to ATP and Type Ratings in ASEL, ASES, and AMES.