Delta opens Propel Flight Academy with Skyborne Academy
Delta Air Lines celebrated the grand opening of its Propel Flight Academy in Vero Beach, Florida, marking the airline’s fourth pathway for aspiring students to become Delta pilots.
Delta’s Propel Flight Academy, in partnership with U.K. and U.S.-based Skyborne Airline Academy, is located at Vero Beach Regional Airport and will offer selected students a road map to take them from no flying experience to a job as a pilot. Eligible students can also qualify for up to $20,000 in financial aid to complete the program.
To address concerns about dropout rates at other North American flight schools, Woodward and Skyborne Academy have developed a selective admission process for students.
“I’m very sensitive to the fact that youngsters are going to be paying a fairly phenomenal amount of money to come into training. … We have a duty of care to all trainees to make sure they have what it takes from the start,” Woodward explained.
Skyborne’s selection process includes online aptitude and numeracy tests, psychometric questionnaires, and interviews to assess whether applicants have the aptitude and personality to complete training and be a successful career pilot.
Aspiring pilots will receive instruction from Delta Propel and Skyborne instructors at a newly refurbished 12,000-square-foot facility at the Vero Beach airport. Students will train in the academy’s fleet of 50 single- and multiengine Piper aircraft, as well as Redbird simulators.
Student pilots will earn their private pilot certificate, instrument rating, commercial pilot certificate, and certificated flight instructor (CFI) certificate at the academy, and once they have completed their first certificate or rating, they will be able to apply for Delta’s Propel Program, which includes a qualified job offer and accelerated timeline to Delta. Eligible students will also be offered employment as CFIs with Skyborne, where they’ll receive a salary, full sponsorship from Skyborne to complete their certificated instrument instructor and multiengine instructor certificates, and health benefits until they have reached 1,500 flight hours.
