Erik Eliel

Erik Eliel is an Alaska Airlines pilot, former U-2 spy plane pilot, and an expert on weather radar with more than 10,000 hours of flight time. As a military pilot, Erik flew missions in the Middle East, Somalia, North Korea and Bosnia in four flying tours involving the T-38, C-141, and the U-2. He has received numerous awards including the Air Combat Command Flying Safety Award of Distinction for recovering a crippled U-2 in low weather conditions on an operational mission in Korea.

In 1997, Erik became an instructor at the Air Force Advanced Instrument School, teaching advanced instrument concepts to pilots representing NASA, federal law enforcement agencies, and all branches of the military. His interest in weather radar and severe convective weather began in 1991 while he flew global airlift missions in the C-141. In 1998, he began working closely with one of the world’s top experts, Archie Trammell, to develop a formal weather radar-training program for Air Force pilots—the first ever of its kind.

Erik is the founder and president of Radar Training International. His radar seminars have been given to professional flight departments, aviation associations, the military, a major airline, and dispatchers and meteorologists of aviation-related companies. He has been consulted on the design, operational employment, and evaluation of airborne weather radar systems. His articles on radar and weather have been published in the NBAA Journal of Business Aviation and in Business & Commercial Aviation, and he has contributed to safety-oriented publications such as the Flight Safety Foundation’s magazine AeroSafety World.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Montana State University.

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Special Skills