Dimitri Partafyllas
Stratos Aviation founder
FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor
Certifications: Commercial Pilot ASEL, AMEL, Instrument Airplane, CFI, CFII, and MEI. Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP)
As the owner and Chief Instructor of Stratos Aviation, Dimitri Partafyllas has always had a passion for aviation and wanted to fly ever since he was a child. Born in Greece but since many years a U.S. Citizen, he speaks English, Greek and German. Dimitri started learning to fly while working in Bavaria, Germany. He finished his pilot training in Greenville, SC and has flown out of the Greenville Downtown Airport since 2000. In 2007, he became a flight instructor and since then, he and Stratos Aviation have been awarded several Federal Aviation Administration and AOPA aviation professional awards.
From the Federal Aviation Administration, Dimitri was nominated and selected as the SC District-General Aviation Flight Instructor of the Year for 2018 and 2019, for outstanding accomplishment and leadership excellence in the pursuit of the mission of aviation safety.
From the Airplane and Owners Pilots Association Dimitri received the Southeast Region, the 2017 and 2018 Distinguished Certified Flight Instructor Flight Training Experience Awards.
With twenty (20) years of flying experience and over 8,000 hours of dual instruction, he really enjoys teaching others to fly.
Dimitri’s goal has always been to create the best flight school in the Upstate of South Carolina. He and his team are committed to ensuring that Stratos Aviation graduates are equipped with the skills needed to become and remain confident, proficient and capable aviators now and into the future. Additionally, him and his team instill in them a deep sense of respect for flight, which includes the responsibility of assessing and managing risk for themselves, their passengers and their fellow pilots.