For Mike Hayes, flying started when he was 16 years old, and he has been flying for more than 40 years. He obtained his private pilot certificate in 1972 and acquired additional certificates and ratings in 1987. His aviation experience includes flight time in over 30 different types of aircraft, and the majority of instruction he has given has been in various models of Cessna, Piper, Mooney, Grumman, and Bellanca aircraft. He has been a flight instructor since 1988, instructing both full- and part-time for several large flight schools in Texas. Besides teaching, Mike has also worked as a corporate pilot and as a senior flight operations agent for a large regional airline. Prior to becoming involved in flight training, he worked for over 10 years in the telecommunications and information technology industry with extensive travel throughout the U.S.

Mike is the author of ASA's popular Oral Exam Guide Series for the Private, Commercial, Instrument, Multi-Engine, CFI, and ATP oral/practical tests.