Best in class

Additionally, 50 flight schools and 47 flight instructors were honored with distinguished awards.

The Flight Training Experience survey asked student pilots, newly minted pilots, and pilots pursuing advanced ratings or taking a flight review for feedback about the quality of their flight training and instruction experience. The survey gave respondents the opportunity to highlight the best parts of their flight training and identify where flight schools and instructors may want to make improvements.

The survey asked respondents to evaluate performance in four main areas: educational quality, customer focus, community, and information sharing. Flight schools and instructors who ranked in the top third of their region are recognized as a distinguished flight school or instructor. Additionally, a blind committee process selects the best school or CFI in each region. Feedback from the surveys is shared with the schools and instructors so they can celebrate, assess, and address the results.

Of the regional winners, one flight school and one flight instructor will be recognized as the nation’s best, announced at Redbird Migration, a flight training conference hosted March 5 and 6 at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston.

“This year we have seen something similar from past years,” Chris Moser, AOPA’s senior director of flight training education, said. “The emphasis was on how much the best schools and instructors made their customers feel like family. Whether through creating a warm or welcoming atmosphere, or simply just being there when the client needs them, I am excited to hear about the strong community that is being built right from the start!”

The Flight Training Experience Survey has helped the AOPA You Can Fly team recognize superior flight training professionals since 2012.

AOPA’s You Can Fly program is dedicated to building the pilot community by creating programs for flying clubs, rusty pilots, and high school students who need support with their aviation goals.

Regional winners

	Best flight schools	Best flight instructors
Central Southwest	Code 1 Flight Training	Norm Rathje
Eastern	Air Ventures Flying School	Malinda (Lin) Caywood
Great Lakes	Pilot Flight Training Courses	Ernest Boys
Pacific	Mike Smith Aviation	Margaret Watt
Southern	Aviator Zone Academy	Kurt Belsten
Western	Copper City Aviation Services LLC	Kerry Constable

See the list of Distinguished Schools and CFIs here.

The You Can Fly program and the Air Safety Institute are funded by charitable donations to the AOPA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. To be a part of the solution, visit www.aopafoundation.org/donate.