Dan Gudgel has been instructing in Gliders since 1984 and holds other instructing certificates in the Airplane and Rotorcraft Categories. He is an FAA-approved Designated Pilot Examiner in the Glider Category. Additionally he been involved in the family business of aerial application his entire life. Dan also works for the San Joaquin Valley Office of the National Weather Service (NWS) in Hanford, CA.

He was born in Merced, CA, in 1952 and has resided in or near the San Joaquin Valley his entire life except for a brief 2-year tour of duty in Silver Spring, MD, for the NWS.

Dan has been actively involved in the soaring community in not only instructing, but also as a towpilot and contest support meteorologist. He has participated in numerous local, regional, national, and international soaring events in one capacity or another since 1979. Although occasionally helping the Skylark North Flight School at Mountain Valley Airport in Tehachapi, CA, Dan frequents the Central California Soaring Club (CCSC) as an instructor and checkpilot. He is currently on the Board of the CCSC so if you have any questions please feel free to contact him for further information.