Our Mission

Mark E. Cioffi, PhD, Lt. Col. USAF (retired)

Mark is President and founder of FAST with over 37 years of aviation experience.  He began by flying helicopters and attended flight school at Ft. Rucker, AL as a 2Lt in the USAF. For his first assignment he flew rescue at Keflavik NAS, Iceland in the HH-3E Jolly Green. He then went on to VIP support at Andrews AFB Presidential Wing, in the CH-3E and UH-1N. After helicopters, he went to Vance AFB for fixed wing qualification to fly the C-141B Starlifter. He flew the C-141 until retiring as a Lt. Colonel after 21 years of service. He then spent several years as Program Manager for the MV-22 Osprey Curriculum Development at New River MCAS. Currently, he is a Delta pilot flying the 737NG- 700/800/900 series aircraft. He also had the opportunity to bring his vision for leveraging non-motion simulation to Delta pilot training.  As Program Lead, he was instrumental in changing the paradigm of using full motion simulation where the latest technology in non-motion simulation would improve accessibility and efficiency for the program. During his career, Dr. Cioffi spent a considerable amount of time involved with training, simulation, human factors and personal error reduction. One of his visions with creating FAST is to make the flight school experience a success for those willing to serve in uniform.

“Accessibility to training is a key factor to success in aviation. If pilots can practice the tasks they have to perform, then they can gain confidence and knowledge, which are perhaps the two most important factors in learning to fly. FAST provides accessibility to a realistic T-6 that allows familiarization at your own pace on your own time.  Flight school is very competitive, and the more realistic practice you can accomplish the better you will be the day you show up for flight school.  It’s that simple.” – Mark E. Cioffi, PhD