As of July 1, 2024, the Bahamas Customs & Excise Department has imposed substantial and egregious fees on pilots flying General Aviation aircraft on recreational flights. Pilots should be mindful of these new and additional fees before considering flying to the Bahamas. Read More
Get extra lift from AOPA. Start your free membership trial today! Click here
TRAINING & SAFETY

2024 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 by Region

Central Southern
Norm Rathje
Wills Point, TX

Eastern
Malinda (Lin) Caywood
Frederick, MD

Great Lakes
Ernest Boys
Lake in the Hills, IL

Pacific
Margaret Watt
Hollister, CA

Southern
Kurt Belsten
Melbourne, FL

Western
Kerry Constable
Scottsdale, AZ

Best Flight School by Region

Central Southern
Code 1 Flight Training
Wills Point, TX

Eastern
AIR Ventures Flying School
Pawtucket, RI

Great Lakes
Pilot Flight Training Courses
Lake in the Hills, IL

Pacific
Mike Smith Aviation
Napa, CA

Southern
Aviator Zone Academy
Miami, FL

Western
Copper City Aviation Services, LLC
Bisbee, AZ

Distinguished Flight Schools by Region

Central Southern

Nationwide Aviation - WEA
Weatherford, TX

Nationwide Aviation – 52F
Roanoke, TX

Mike's Flying Service
Terrell, TX

Mistwood Aviation Services
St. Louis, MO

Texas Flight Aviation
Houston, TX

United Flight Systems
Houston, TX

Black Hound Aviation
Austin, TX

In the Pattern Flight School and Aviation Services
Denton, TX

Parrish Aviation Flight Academy, LLC
Dallas, TX

Eastern

Air Fleet Training Systems
Caldwell, NJ

MIL2ATP
Goldsboro, NC

Aviation Adventures
Warrenton, VA

NOVA Pilots
Leesburg, VA

Aviation Adventures
Winchester, VA

Chesapeake Sport Pilot
Stevensville, MD

Norby Aviation, LLC
Southbridge, MA

Race City Flight Operations
Mooresville, NC

Bravo Flight Training
Frederick, MD

Cape Fear Aviation Flight Training
Fayetteville, NC

FCA Flight Center
Fitchburg, MA

Jumpers Away
Greenville, SC

Great Lakes

Ballou Skies Aviation
Bucyrus, OH

Turn 2 Aviation
Bloomsburg, PA

Fly There, LLC
Wheeling, IL

Fundamentals Flight Training
Erie, PA

JB Aviation Flight School
Wonder Lake, IL

Eagle Aircraft
Valparaiso, IN

Smoketown Flight Center, LLC
Smoketown, PA

Aero-Tech Services, Inc.
Lancaster, PA

Blue Skies Flying Services
Lake in the Hills, IL

Pacific

MI Air Aviation Education
Chino, CA

Sparrowhawk Aviation
Hollister, CA

SoCal Aviation, Inc.
Chino, CA

San Carlos Flight Center
San Carlos, CA

NextGen Flight Academy
Riverside, CA

Du Bois Aviation
Chino, CA

Southern

Premier Flight Solutions, LLC
Orlando, FL

Kingsky Flight Academy
Lakeland, FL

Jack Brown's Seaplane Base
Winter Haven, FL

Flight Training Professionals
Orlando, FL

ETL Aviation
Lexington, KY

Eglin Aero Club
Eglin AFB, FL

D&J Aviation
Apopka, FL

USAeroFlight, LLC
Greenville, SC

Western

Leopard Aviation
Scottsdale, AZ

Blue Goose Aviation, Inc.
Polson, MT

Bush Air
Cal-Nev-Ari, NV

Alpine Flight Training
Eagle, CO

Air Trek North
South Saint Paul, MN

Summit Aviation
Boseman, MT

Distinguished Flight Instructors by Region

Central Southern

Corey Howard
Weatherford, TX

Jim Lewis
Roanoke, TX

Devin Tiffany
Roanoke, TX

Aaron Finch
Houston, TX

Johnny Leeroy Bartlett
Houston, TX

Mike Hardin
Terrell, TX

Eastern

Christopher Freeze
Leesburg, VA

Raymond DeHaan
Leesburg, VA

Douglas Auclair
Pawtucket, RI

Roger Earl Coffman
Warrenton, VA

Sebastian (Vince) Massimini
Stevensville, MD

Jay Nabors
Sanford, NC

William Robinson
Pawtucket, RI

Dave Strassburg
Northampton, MA

Mitchell Krupp
Pawtucket, RI

Robert Yacoub
Caldwell, NJ

Chris Kreske
Goldsboro, NC

Brian Danza
Washington, DC

Wayne Green
Warrenton, VA

Ian MacBeth
Pawtucket, RI

Trevor Garrard
Leesburg, VA

Great Lakes

Anthony Greco
Lake in the Hills, IL

Jared Dellinger
Wheeling, IL

Ethan Meisenburg
West Chicago, IL

Robert Heffington
Wonder Lake, IL

Mason Cross
Valparaiso, IN

Robert Taylor
West Chicago, IL

Samr Morcos
Coatesville, PA

Pacific

Suhail Faiz Mirza
Chino, CA

Patrick Lu
Chino, CA

Gal Edry
Concord, CA

Sang Bin Na
Chino, CA

William (Tad) Sigman
Napa, CA

Derek Winkelhaus
Napa, CA

Anthony Sharobeem
Napa, CA

Southern

Brandon Gardner
Orlando, FL

Emin Jakupovic
Winter Haven, FL

Bradley J. Fenster
Lexington, KY

Rodrigo Cesar Patricio
Lakeland, FL

Nathan Cabrera
Apopka, FL

Isaiah Maldonado
Orlando, FL

Western

Don Hendrickson
Helena, MT

Cheryl Swisher
Bisbee, AZ

Christina Rawlins
Scottsdale, AZ

Andre Hamil
Chandler, AZ

Michael Wallace
Wichita, KS

Ambyr Peterson
Minneapolis, MN