Flight School Spotlight, Leading Edge Flight Academy

Leading Edge operates out of Bend Municipal Airport in Bend, Oregon. From the outside, it is obvious this Part 141 organization operates like a well-oiled machine. Students go in and pilots come out—and head straight for aviation careers. Leading Edge management works to make sure this is possible by working with a variety of industry partners, while giving their students opportunities to pursue work with helicopter tours and business with government entities that the school supports.

“Primarily, we’re a professional pilot school, here to get people to their careers,” said Jack Walker, vice president of Leading Edge Flight Academy. “Everything is about servicing the student, the instructor, their success.”

This professional pilot school services around 250 students at a time, with 40 instructors and 38 aircraft. After nearly 20 years of business, the school has developed a simple philosophy for producing confident and proficient aviators—according to Walker, continuously asking themselves, “How do we produce the best pilot that is also going to be the best employee for whoever they’re going to work with next?”

It all starts at the beginning of a student’s training. Some come in for just flight training, and others are part of the program with Central Oregon Community College. The degree program allows students to get a two-year degree while offering flight training for fixed-wing or rotorcraft. Students go at their own pace to earn certificates until they are ready to be hired by an airline.

These professional opportunities are curated by the staff at Leading Edge Flight Academy, who say that the flight school’s reputation in the industry and commitment to partnerships is instrumental to student success. “My goal on our business development efforts has been to…partner with regions north, south, east, west,” said Walker. By doing this his team ensures that students who come to train with Leading Edge from all over the country can go back to their communities to continue their careers with flexibility and freedom. Current partnerships include SkyWest, Horizon Air, and Alaska Seaplanes for airplanes, and Papillion Grand Canyon Helicopters, Temsco Helicopters, Pollux Aviation, Columbia Helicopters, and Pathfinder Aviation for helicopter students.

In July, Leading Edge Flight Academy announced a new partnership with Ravn Alaska. The industry partnership is the most recent of several alliances that Leading Edge pursues to give its students the best financial and career opportunities possible.

“LEFA’s Part 141 program and multiple financing options provide the most direct and cost-efficient path to a career as a professional pilot,” said Walker. “At Ravn, a new pilot could work their entire career, first flying turboprops in Alaska and ultimately flying long-haul international flights. And if remaining in good employment standing with Ravn, that pilot could have their entire student debt from flight training paid off. That’s a huge opportunity for anyone wanting to become a professional pilot.”

The industry partnerships are just one example of the ways in which Leading Edge and Walker choose to “buckle down and be thoughtful” about their approach to flight training, especially given the time to evaluate this approach during the pandemic. Two other examples of this commitment are the student success team and hosting a safety down day.

The student success team is comprised of members of the flight school at all levels, including bosses, administration, students, and maintenance staff. It’s a chance for people to come together to have an open conversation about helping students wholistically succeed. “It’s blown my mind how freely people share their knowledge and wisdom with each other,” Walker said.

Walker believes every flight school should participate in a safety down day. “Every year in January we have a safety down day, and we shut down the entire company and everyone is together,” Walker said. “It makes you surround yourself with aviation wisdom...The better you’re going to be, the safer you’re going to be.”

Gathering as a community to work toward a common goal is what being at Leading Edge Flight Academy is all about.