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TRAINING & SAFETY

2023 Flight Training Experience Award Winners

Many thanks to our survey respondents for investing time to provide feedback through the annual Flight Training Experience Survey.

The survey encourages anyone who has taken flight training in the past 12 months to candidly share their training experiences. Survey participants included pilots of all experience levels, from new students to those earning advanced ratings or taking a flight review.

The overall performance of the survey respondents’ flight training providers is measured through their responses and also highlights areas where they are successful and where they have opportunities to improve.

 

Best Flight Instructor - National

Bryan Gutraj

Dubuque, IA


Best Flight School – National

In the Pattern Flight School and Rentals

Denton, TX



Best Flight Instructor by Region

Central Southwest

Bryan Gutraj

Dubuque, IA

 

Eastern

Douglas Auclair

Pawtucket, RI

 

Great Lakes

Logan Arlis

Chicago/West Chicago, IL

 

Northwest Mountain

William Dale Crabtree

Everett, WA

 

Southern

Brandon Gardner

Orlando, FL

 

Western Pacific

William (Cole) Hickcox

Scottsdale, AZ

Best Flight School by Region

Central Southwest

In the Pattern Flight School and Rentals

Denton, TX

 

Eastern

NoVA Pilots

Leesburg, VA

 

 

Great Lakes

Blue Skies Flying Services

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

 

Northwest Mountain

Ridgeline Aviation, Inc.

Bozeman, MT

 

Southern

MIL2ATP, Inc.

Goldsboro, NC

 

Western Pacific

Bush Air

Cal Nev Ari, NV



Distinguished Flight Schools by Region

Central Southwest

 

Thrust Flight

Dallas, TX

 

Code 1 Flight Training

Wills Point, TX

 

Mike’s Flying Service

Terrell, TX

 

United Flight Systems

Houston, TX

 

 

Eastern

 

Air Fleet Training Systems

Caldwell, NJ

 

Aviation Adventures

Leesburg, VA

 

FCA Flight Center

Fitchburg, MA

 

Norby Aviation, LLC

Southbridge, MA

 

AeroVenture

Mansfield, MA

 

Aviation Adventures

Winchester, VA

 

Avier Flight School

Beverly, MA

 

Bravo Flight Training

Frederick, MD

 

 

Great Lakes

 

Western Michigan Aviation Academy

Grand Rapids, MI

 

Spencer Aviation, Inc.

Delaware, OH

 

Barnstormers Aviation

Bemidji, MN

 

Eagle Aircraft Flight Academy

Valparaiso, IN

 

JB Aviation

Greenwood/Wonder Lake, IL



Northwest Mountain

 

Summit Aviation

Bozeman, MT

 

Rocky Mountain Flight Training Center

Colorado Springs, CO

 

 

 

 

Southern

 

Aviator Zone Academy

Miami Executive Airport

 

Jumpers Away

Oak Island, NC

 

Premier Flight Solutions, LLC

Orlando, FL

 

ETL Aviation

Lexington, KY

 

Kingsky Flight Academy

Lakeland, FL

 

D&J Aviation, LLC

Apopka, FL

 

Paragon Flight Training Co.

Fort Myers, FL

 

USAeroFlight, LLC

Greenville, SC

 

 

Western Pacific

 

Leopard Aviation, LLC

Scottsdale, AZ

 

Mike Smith Aviation

Napa, CA

 

NextGen Flight Academy

Riverside, CA

 

San Carlos Flight Center

San Carlos, CA

 

M.I.AIR Aviation Education

Chino, CA                                    

Distinguished Flight Instructors by Region

Central Southwest

Aaron Conde

Houston, TX

 

Adil Diyab

Fort Worth, TX

 

Tarah Hughes

Houston, TX

 

Johnny Leeroy Bartlett

Houston, TX

 

Norm Rathje

Wills Point, TX

 

Preston Harrison

Houston, TX

 

Amanda Smolik

Denton, TX

 

Frida McWilliams

Houston, TX

 

Alyssa Burkitt

Denton, TX

 

Eastern

 

Christopher Freeze

Leesburg, VA

 

Akif Sajjad Khan

Leesburg, VA

 

Kevin Norby

Southbridge, MA

 

James Powell

Fitchburg, MA

 

 

Raymond de Haan

Leesburg, VA

 

Rosalie Lessard

Poughkeepsie, NY

 

Robert Hepp

Manassas, VA

 

Carolyn Hunker

Manassas, VA

 

Tyler Jusko

Southbridge, MA

 

Alexey Ozerov

Caldwell, NJ

 

Bill English

Leesburg, VA

 

William Robinson

Pawtucket, RI

 

William Wobbe

Leesburg, VA

 

Rowan Cruickshank

Montgomery, NY

 

Wayne Green

Warrenton, VA

 

John Kern

Montgomery, NY

 

Jordan D. McCarthy

Leesburg, VA

 

Nathaniel Hahn

Leesburg, VA

 

Brian Danza

Manassas, VA

 

Elias Kontanis

Manassas, VA

 

Peter Coolidge

Fitchburg, MA

 

Great Lakes

 

Joe Standley

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

Jessica Vargas

Chicago/West Chicago, IL

 

Randal Awker

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

Tom Blackman

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

Ernest Boys

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

Jared Dellinger

Chicago/Prospect Heights/Wheeling, IL

 

Dawn Cook

Bemidji, MN

 

Natalie Janelli

Chicago/Lake in the Hills, IL

 

Peg Ballou

Bucyrus, OH



Northwest Mountain

 

Joe Kuberka

Polson, MT

 

Melissa Harlow

Bozeman, MT

 

Bradley Barker

Grand Junction, CO

 

Bryant William Meier

Renton, WA

 

Benjamin Goss

Denver, CO

 

Kim Wheeler

Tacoma, WA

 

Southern

 

Anh-Thu Nguyen

Hollywood, FL

 

Michael Todd Shellnutt

Jacksonville, FL

 

Jon Lambeth

Winder, GA

 

Michael Friend

Apopka, FL

 

Chris Kreske

Goldsboro, NC

 

Katherine Grones

Jacksonville, FL

 

Matt Eichel

Goldsboro, NC

 

Jay Nabors

Sanford, NC

 

Alex Santiago

Jacksonville, FL

 

David Lequire

Morehead, KY

 

Ryan Pattison

Orlando, FL

 

 

Western Pacific

 

Michael Smith

Napa, CA

 

Herb Patten

San Carlos, CA

 

Courtney Risner

Bakersfield, CA

 

Carol  Bennett

Santa Ana, CA

 

Brent Creager

Scottsdale, AZ

 

Rachael Webster

Palto Alto, CA

 

Robert Schmitt

Scottsdale, AZ

 

CC Milne Pocock

Cal Nev Ari, NV

 

Evan Paraskevopoulos

Hayward, CA