Roster of Instructor Pilots
Commander John “Pags” Paganelli (son of “Pigmy”) graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1986. He earned his Navy wings of gold in 1987 and has accumulated over 5,500 hours of flight time in numerous military and commercial aircraft, including over 3,000 hours in the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet. He has served in 5 Navy Strike-Fighter Squadrons and has made 7 major deployments aboard Naval Aircraft Carriers, logging over 900 carrier arrested landings. Pags is a graduate of the Navy’s Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) and served as the Navy’s F/A-18 Demonstration Pilot while flying Hornet demonstrations all over the world. He is also a qualified Combat Strike Leader and has flown more than 75 combat missions over Iraq, Bosnia, and Kosovo. In 2000, Pags was hired by United Airlines and served as a pilot on the Boeing 727 and 737 before he volunteered to return to active duty following the Terrorist Attacks on September 11th. He has remained on active duty and currently lives in California, Maryland with his wife Laurie and son Jordan.