Meet our Instructors
Our Team
Our experienced instructors are dedicated to providing the highest quality flight training, ensuring each student reaches their full potential.
Lis Hendrickson
Chief Flight Instructor
Lis has a FAA Commercial certificate. She is also a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI/CFII) as well as a Platinum Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot. Lis is well known in the Duluth/Superior area and beyond. She specializes in advanced pilot instruction; instrument rating, commercial certificate, CFI certificate and Cirrus transitions.
Lauren Entringer
Director of Operations
Lauren, from Green Bay, WI, is an alumna of Utah Valley University’s School of Aviation Sciences. With over 1000 flight hours, she holds several flight instructor certifications, including CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, and IGI. Additionally, she is furthering her education by pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at UVU. Lauren places a strong emphasis on student success in her teaching approach.
Mark Sowl
Flight Instructor
Mark has been a pilot since 1975. He is a retired US Marine Officer and a retired Captain, Duluth Fire Department. He has been interested in aviation since his days as an enlisted crewmember on aircraft in Vietnam. He currently is a Command Pilot in the Civil Air Patrol and an Aircraft Commander in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Air. He holds an FAA Commercial Certificate and is licensed as a CFI, CFII and MEI and was initially certified as a flight instructor in 1988. Mark has been very active during the past four years instructing in various aircraft in the Duluth Superior area and has prepared numerous students as Private, Instrument, Commercial, and Certified Flight Instructor pilots in single and multi-engine aircraft.
Travis Dauplasie
Flight Instructor
Travis studied at Lake Superior College for an Associates in Professional Aviation. He has his commercial single-engine and multi-engine as well as CFI. He started instructing in 2021 at Lake Superior College before beginning work at Fly Duluth.
Austin Miller
Flight Instructor
Austin began his aviation career as a helicopter turbine mechanic in the U.S. Army. After serving for 6 years, Austin moved on to begin flight training in Duluth while working as a firefighter in a municipal department, and for the DNR as a wildland firefighter during the summer. He is currently completing the last semester of his bachelor’s degree and is a licensed CFI and CFII.
Austin Dauplasie
Flight Instructor
Austin studied at Minnesota State University Mankato and earned his CFI, CFII, and MEI as well as a bachelor’s degree in professional aviation in 2023. He returned to Duluth to flight instruct because it’s his hometown, and he loves the outdoors here. One day he would like to fly for Sun Country Airlines.
Judy Nguyen
Flight Instructor
Judy Nguyen is from Garden Grove, California, and an alumna of the University of North Dakota School of Aeronautics with degrees in Commercial Aviation and Flight Education and specializations in Aviation Safety and Business Aviation. She currently holds her CFI/CFII and instructed at UND before beginning at Fly Duluth. She has extensive experience teaching in congested airspace and has flown through mountainous terrain. She enjoys sharing her aviation knowledge, cooking, the outdoors, and international travel.
Rufaro Chingozho
Flight Instructor
Rufaro, originally from Zimbabwe, recently graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in Aviation-Professional Flight from Minnesota State University, Mankato where he also earned his CFI/CFII/MEI ratings. He is currently working towards reaching his R-ATP hour requirement of 1000 hours and then plans to move on to fly for SkyWest as he is a part of the SkyWest Pilot Pathway Program.