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Beyond the Familiar Skies Embrace New Challenges to Grow Your Pilot Skills
Flying is a pursuit that rewards precision, discipline, and consistency. But it also thrives on variety. As pilots, we spend countless hours refining procedures and mastering fundamentals, often in the same aircraft, over the same routes, and in predictable conditions. While repetition is valuable, staying within your comfort zone
Differences between a Private Pilot and Commercial Pilot Certification
For anyone passionate about flying, earning a pilot’s license is a major accomplishment. But as you progress through your aviation journey, you’ll quickly discover that not all pilot certifications are created equal. Two of the most common — and often misunderstood — are the Private Pilot Certificate and the
Is your aircraft clean, stocked and organized before takeoff
In aviation, every detail matters. Safety isn’t just about checklists and clear skies — it starts long before you taxi to the runway. One of the most overlooked yet essential habits every pilot should develop is keeping their aircraft clean, organized, and properly stocked before each flight. It may
Choosing a Flight School - What to Ask What to Consider
Deciding to become a pilot is an exciting milestone, but choosing the right flight school is one of the most important decisions in your aviation journey. The path from the classroom to the cockpit will shape your skills, mindset, and future opportunities. With so many training options available, knowing
Gain-real-Flight-Experience
Logging flight hours is an essential part of pilot training and certification, but it’s important to understand that accumulating hours isn’t the same as gaining meaningful flight experience. The real difference between a pilot who simply logs time and one who develops true skill lies in how those hours
Take the First Step and Finish What You Started
We get it. You are a successful professional and don’t have the time to finish getting your pilot certificate. If you are like the several thousand other students we have, you probably work late during the week and spend your weekends either working or with your family. You couldn’t
Technology has changed the face of general aviation. Everything pilots had to do for themselves in the past, technology now does for you. It accurately tells you where you are, the airspace you are in, the nearest airports and how to get there, all the instrument approaches that apply
career in aviation
By Steven Daun, National Chief Pilot I guess you can say I am a little biased, but who wouldn’t want to work in aviation? Yet most people seem to think that if they aren’t cut out for being a pilot, and they don’t want to be a flight attendant
cold weather operations
With the hot weather disappearing in most parts of the country, pilots are thinking about the upcoming winter weather and the challenges that will affect how we plan and execute our flights. While cold weather and icing conditions quickly pop into the minds of most pilots when thinking about
Instrument Training
You don’t need to have accumulated hours of experience before embarking on your instrument training; in fact, you can start the day after your private pilot checkride. Almost 80% of our private pilot graduates come back to American Flyers for their Instrument Rating; they recognize the safety and the
Our Addison South location, where our Career Academy is located, is blessed to have 3 experienced and dedicated Assistant Chief Pilots (ACI). One of these ACI’s is Stephen Sanderson. A charismatic employee with a fun and caring personality, Stephen is an instructor every student hopes to fly with. Born
Featured Staff_ Eduardo Jimenez
In our history as American Flyers, we have been blessed to have many wonderful, long-term employees. From instructors, to operations staff, to mechanics, there are many people over the years that have contributed to the overall success and longevity of this company. I, myself, have had the pleasure of
Over 30 years ago, American Flyers made the decision to create and conduct a 30-Day CFI academy aimed at not only prepping students to become the best flight instructors in the industry, but also creating a pool of highly qualified future employees from which we could staff our locations.
Dan “His Air-Worthiness” Nodal has been involved in aviation for almost 50 years, 28 with American Flyers. A Vietnam Veteran, Dan joined the United States Air Force in 1970, where he proudly served for six years. I asked Dan, “what do you remember most about your time in the
Featured Staff_ Marty Finlayson
By: Andrew Henley In aviation, there are many people behind the scenes that help schools like American Flyers reach their goals. We consider ourselves fortunate to have a great team of Instructors, Mechanics, Operations and Sales staff, as well as other team members not directly employed by American Flyers. One
Kenneth Mathews
By: Andrew Henley Kenneth Mathews has been the manager of our Houston school, located at David Wayne Hooks Airport (DWH) in Spring, Texas, for 3 and a half years. Kenneth is a native of Louisiana and a graduate from Louisiana Tech, where he majored in Aviation Management, in 2006.
Vagif Aliyev
Vagif Aliyev has been based at our Pompano Beach, Florida, facility since 2002. Before coming to American Flyers, Vagif had compiled an aviation resume that most would only dream about. A graduate of the Kiev Institute of Civil Engineers, Vagif began his aviation career working for Aeroflot Airlines as
Brianna Quinn – School Director at Scottsdale, AZ School By Andrew Henley Brianna’s love for aviation began while she was growing up in Louisiana and California. As a girl, Brianna would travel with her parents and remembers taking off and raising her arms in the air as if she
Frank Gravina
Frank Gravina – Ground School Instructor at Morristown, NJ School By: Kasey King, School Director Flight instructing can be challenging, the job requires a lot more than just staying up to date with current rules and regulations. It requires a caring attitude, a passion for the subject, and dedication. These
Rachel
By Andrew Henley  Rachel Martinez has a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is a graduate of American Flyers’ 30-Day CFI Academy. After completing the Academy, Rachel was recruited in August 2016 to teach as a Flight Instructor at the Pompano Beach, Fla., school location. While working as a Flight
Kevin McCormack
Kevin McCormack has been a part of American Flyers for eighteen years. Growing up in a family of aviation enthusiasts, the interest in aircraft and flight training was always a cardinal part of Kevin’s makeup, and his passion for the industry could not be more evident to the students
Kasey King
Kasey King is a graduate of Western Michigan University and American Flyers’ 30-Day Flight Instructor Academy in Addison, TX. After completing the academy, Kasey King started teaching for us in Addison. After a few months of instructing, he volunteered to leave Dallas to help instruct at our school in