There is a reason American Flyers is known as the “Finish-Up School” and Eric Goodenough of Deltona, Florida recently experienced the kind of finishing up we provide.

Eric was the kid who’d run outside every time he heard an airplane fly overhead. He’d search the blue sky for the object of his affection. In high school he studied Airspace Science in Air Force Junior ROTC. “I always had an amazement for airplanes,” he said.

When the time was right, he began training at a well known flight school in Florida, but found the pace to be too slow. His uncle and mentor, Eddie Royko, suggested looking into American Flyers because he’d been their chief pilot in the ’80s when they were based at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. Operations Director Joe Cannizzaro met them on a weekend to show them around the Pompano school and Eric was easily convinced that this was the place for him.

He arrived in Pompano Beach in mid-February and flew nonstop. He needed 90 hours to qualify for his Commercial Certificate and within a month and a half he’d met the requirements and passed his check ride. Two days later he started working on his Multi-engine and took that check ride seven days later. From there he went right into the CFI Academy, which he finished with success.

Now he’s taking a couple weeks off to see his family and he’ll back as a CFI in Pompano. His long-term goal is to fly jets for a major airline someday, but for now he thinks he’s going to enjoy teaching.