Flight School Spotlight: Giving Wings Aviation

The organization has experienced significant growth over the past three years under the leadership of owner Eric Nuffer and Chief Flight Instructor Sara Lorenz.

What started with a 1946 Aeronca Champ in 2010 has flourished into a 14-aircraft operation that offers multiple instruction paths, including training opportunities with floats, mutiengine, light sport aircraft, tailwheel, and aerobatics. Along with adding airplanes, hangars, and instruction opportunities, the organization has also expanded front office operations and added classroom space to promote in-person learning for students and instructors.

“We have grown a lot since I’ve started here, so it’s been exciting,” said Lorenz, who started as a certificated flight instructor at Giving Wings in 2019 and became the chief flight instructor in April of this year. Lorenz noted that making students comfortable is something the flight school doesn’t want to lose sight of as it continues to grow. “It’s stressful, being a pilot is hard,” she said. “[We] try to make sure we have an idea where everyone is at and that no one is a stranger and that they can feel welcome here.” She said that something as simple as remembering a student’s name and where they are in their training can help build this welcoming environment.

Eric Nuffer is similarly passionate about making customers feel like an “insider” in this strange world of flight training. “We try to make sure everyone is made to feel important and part of our Giving Wings Aviation family,” Nuffer said, mentioning one example of sending out postcards celebrating students’ accomplishments. “I tell all our instructors that you have only one shot at making a great first impression.”

Knowing that the instructors contribute heavily to the ongoing success and welcoming culture of the organization because they are the face-to-face interaction that customers see each day, Giving Wings places emphasis on hiring and instruction of CFIs. “We try our best to hire the most qualified flight instructors that we can, who seem to be passionate,” said Lorenz. “For all the training, for the most part, you’re just one on one with another person, with another instructor, so we try to make sure that when we’re assigning instructors to students that we think their personalities would mesh well and that it’s going to be a good fit because they’re going to be spending 50-plus hours together.”

When asked about what’s next for Giving Wings Aviation, Nuffer was optimistic the organization wouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon. The staff is currently working on revising the flight training syllabus—with hopes to achieve Part 141 status; restoring a 1974 Cessna 207 to add to the fleet; and developing a charter side of the operation. “I think it is important to not become complacent,” Nuffer said, describing next steps as something they are “constantly mulling over.”

As for the overall mission of the flight school, Nuffer thinks it’s something everyone can agree on. “Hopefully just what all flight schools want, in general, when someone leaves with a certificate or rating, the hope that they will be the safest pilot that they can be,” she said, “and that we’ve improved general aviation or even commercial aviation by putting a nice, safe, well-trained pilot into the system.”