2016 'Flight Training' Excellence Awards

A great instructor and a positive flight training environment can make the difference between becoming a pilot and walking away. So we asked students around the country what they thought of their flight training experience. Students were asked to rate their training provider on a number of different factors, including topics such as use of a syllabus and perception of value. What follows is the best flight training providers in the country, as measured by their students. These are the winners of AOPA’s fifth annual Flight Training Excellence Awards.

The Flight Training Excellence Awards are one of the initiatives under You Can Fly, AOPA’s umbrella program to make flying more accessible and affordable. Awards are given in two major categories: flight schools and flight instructors. The Flight Training Poll measured the performance of flight training providers based on four key factors identified by AOPA’s research into the optimal flight training experience: educational quality, customer focus, community, and information sharing. The results were tallied and winners were divided into three levels: Honor Roll, Outstanding School or Instructor, and Best Flight School and Best Flight Instructor in the country.

On the following pages you’ll see how the Best Flight Instructor and Best Flight School of 2016 help their students succeed, as well as a full list of winners. Congratulations to all the schools and instructors, and be on the lookout for the 2017 poll, which will be released midyear.

Find a complete list of the 2016 Flight Training Excellence Awards recipients online.