Roger Geoffrey Woods

Roger Geoffrey Woods is a Designated Pilot Examiner based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who conducts Private, Commercial, Instrument, CFI, and ATP practical tests in helicopters. Operating under the Philadelphia Flight Standards District Office since his appointment in 2017, Woods also serves as the Chief Flight Instructor at the Leonardo Helicopters U.S. Training Academy on Red Lion Road. In this role, which he has held since 2012, he manages hands-on instruction, standardizes training processes, drafts manuals, and oversees instructor qualifications. He has flown almost every AgustaWestland helicopter model except the AW101, and he spent four months conducting transition training for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews as they adopted the AW139. Additionally, Woods represents Leonardo on the FAA's Airman Certification System Working Group and participates in the U.S. Department of Transportation Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee's efforts to modernize pilot certification testing standards. He is active in developing training programs under FAA-Industry Training Standards syllabi. Prior to his civilian career, Woods spent 24 years as a military pilot in the British Army Air Corps, where he flew rotary-wing aircraft for special operations, emergency medical services, police surveillance, and VVIP charters, and directed both basic and advanced military flight instruction.