Karl Dean Cotton

Karl Dean Cotton is a Redmond, Oregon-based Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) operating under the Portland Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) who has administered more than 1,000 practical examinations. Because his active FAA credentials on record are limited to private, commercial, instrument, and flight instructor certificates, Cotton operates strictly as a rotorcraft specialist and does not conduct airplane checkrides. His career in helicopter aviation began in the late 1970s following a heli-skiing trip in Utah. After earning his flight instructor certificate, he secured his first turbine position as a tour pilot for Grand Canyon Helicopters and went on to fly utility and seismic exploration missions in the Rocky Mountains during the 1980s. Cotton's public safety experience includes flying as an officer pilot and instructor for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, training Los Angeles County Fire Department crews in high-risk disciplines like aerial firefighting and hoist operations, and flying short-haul missions for three U.S. National Parks. In Central Oregon, he served as the Chief Flight Instructor for Leading Edge Aviation in Bend, where he established their Night Vision Goggles (NVG) training program. He currently travels nationwide as a Senior Flight Instructor for the Helicopter Institute training pilots in Bell aircraft, and he was honored as the 2023 W.A. "Dub" Blessing Flight Instructor of the Year by the Helicopter Association International.