This special issue of Flight Training is dedicated to the best flight schools and flight instructors in the nation. It honors those training professionals who, according to their students, are the absolute best at what they do.
The training providers featured in this issue are the winners of AOPA’s Flight Training Excellence Awards. Those awards were given as a direct result from feedback of current and recent students through an unscientific poll AOPA conducted throughout last year. In it, the association asked respondents about more than 30 factors regarding their flight training experience. Those results were added on to a panel-scored verbatim section to come up with three tiers of winners—Best, Outstanding, and Honor Roll.
OK, so what, you may be thinking. I go to a different flight school. The purpose of the awards is twofold. From an industry perspective they are meant to raise awareness of the methods and tactics of great flight training providers, in the hopes that other schools and instructors will learn what’s successful. But for you, the student, the awards are equally important. That’s because schools and instructors that score well against the criteria provide a superior product. Knowing this should empower you to bring up at your own school. some of the tactics used by the winners. It may prompt you to go elsewhere for a better experience. And it provides an avenue to rate your current experience.
We say it a number of times in this issue, but it bears repeating: Schools that are shown to meet the poll criteria provide a better flight training product. We know this from independent research into the ideal flight training experience. It’s no big surprise that some basic themes come through: An instructor who is interested and involved, a school that is upfront about costs and time to train; access to simulation; a perception of value; introduction to an aviation community; the use of a syllabus, and so on. Whether or not your school or instructor was a winner, having these traits will greatly enhance your success.
It was no question that winning flight school San Carlos Flight Center has these traits. Owner Dan Dyer is relentless in pursuing the idea of the perfect school. It comes through in everything a student sees and does during flight training. Technical Editor Jill Tallman visited Dyer’s California-based school for her story, which begins on page 34.
To profile Conor Dancy, the best flight instructor, we took a bit of a different tack and sent Managing Editor Julie Summers Walker up for a lesson. Walker has been around aviation for more than a decade, but her nervous flying habits would be sure to put Dancy to the test. You can read all about it, beginning on page 40.
Finally, don’t miss the full list of winners, beginning on page 32. These schools and instructors are the best at what they do, as judged by the toughest panel—their customers.
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