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. One reason this program has been successful is thanks in part to instructors like Patrick Connell, who have poured themselves into making this program the best it can be.
All you have to do is say his name and people know you are talking about American Flyers’ CFI Academy. Patrick is world famous, having taught 100’s, if not 1000’s, of CFIs over his 30 year career with American Flyers. What makes Patrick so special is his dedication and compassion for our students, his desire to always learn something new, and his devotion to the aviation industry.
Before coming to work with us over 25 years ago, Patrick worked as a health care professional in the medical field. He has fulfilled many rolls, but for the past 20 years his major focus has been in teaching the 30-Day CFI academy at our Pompano Beach, Fla., location. Since starting, Patrick has become a guru when it comes to helping CFI candidates reach their goals of being confident and competent, professional flight instructors. In fact, he has one of the highest CFI sign-off rates in the country.
When asked why he chooses to teach this course year after year, he said, “I love shaping the future of this industry and passing on what I’ve learned over the years. I feel there’s no other job where one could have a greater impact on the aviation industry than doing what I’m doing.”
His love shows in his commitment to developing the best CFIs in the industry. His passion and knowledge, in combination with American Flyers’ unique training structure, are the reason for thousands of successful aviation careers, and we are proud to have him on our team! Our program would not be what it is today without his help and caring attitude for all of his students.
Patrick’s success is our students’ success, under his tutelage the American Flyers’ CFI Academy in Pompano has a 90% first time pass rate. If you ask Patrick, he will never be satisfied until we have a 100% pass rate.