Flight Academy Students Choosing Sunair Aviation

Literally Broadening Horizons Through the Right Flight Academy

A flight academy can do many things for your life and career--but you’ll want to choose carefully. As you make your decision, consider key factors that can impact your experience. If you’re in Florida, you’ve got some prime options, and the state makes it legal for aspiring pilots to get their wings as young as seventeen.

Doing this can be as effective as college, especially if you’re pursuing your wings at an institution that allows you to construct lessons in a way fitting your budget and schedule.

With a solid budget and plentiful free time, you’ll be equipped for quick certification. The legal age to be a commercial pilot in Florida is eighteen, so you could conceivably get your private wings within a year of your seventeenth birthday, then get tested for commercial options as soon as you turn eighteen.

However, it’s additionally considerable that some regions won’t allow pilots to fly commercially until they’re at least twenty-one. Still, that doesn’t mean you should avoid going to a flight academy and getting your wings. As a private pilot, you could fly for private clients. Just consider the numbers. Commercial pilots average more than $130k a year. Meanwhile, private pilots earn around $112k a year.

Now the spread, according to that last link, is between $21k and $200k. These are far more “specific” jobs, but there are options to fly for private citizens with substantial resources. Imagine being a pilot on retainer for a celebrity with a private jet, for instance. That could be a lucrative job. Especially if you’ve just graduated high school or college, therefore, finding the right flight academy is highly recommended.

What to Look for In a Flight Academy

At Sunair Aviation, we offer flight academy instruction for domestic as well as international students. We have options for career-minded flyers and even solutions for those who are just looking to fly for fun. It’s fun to have dreams of flight. It’s an entirely separate thrill (one more considerable) if you’re literally in the cockpit.

Even more considerable: the airline industry is desperately seeking new commercial pilots, as the previous generation is aging out, and there’s presently a shortage. You really could make a career of this. But you need the right flight academy. You’ll want to take a few things into account. We’ll cover four key consideration here:

• Seek Top-Tier Flight Academy Instructors

• Determine if Aircraft is Continuously and Qualitatively Maintained

• Find an Airport That’s International, But Not Full of Traffic

• Look for Testing That’s Available On-Site and Offers Multiple Ratings

Seek Top-Tier Flight Academy InstructorsA flight academy is only as good as it’s instructors. You need skilled pilots with real experience, like Nick Larson, who arrived at Sunair Aviation in 2009 and taught college beforehand. Or Eli Weiss, a man native to Florida who has been flying since he was twelve years old.

Even newer instructors like Spencer Pope, who graduated from USF in 2017 with two bachelor’s degrees, and has single, multi-engine, and commercial certifications under his instructor’s belt.

You’re also looking for instructors like Adam Jacques, who has instrument privileges and deep experience in aerospace engineering. Lastly, you want pilots with decades of experience like Michael Abernathy, who has been in the air since the seventies.

There’s little that can be more beneficial than experience among trainers at a flight academy! It’s best when you’ve got a suite of instructors who have many years in the air and a diversity of experience between them. 

Determine If Aircraft Is Continuously and Qualitatively Maintained

Next, it’s essential that whatever flight academy you choose, it’s got the sort of aircraft you can rely on. You’re going to rent these aircraft for your lessons, and you want them to be trustworthy in the air.

At Sunair Aviation, our fleet’s effectiveness is fundamental. We offer many diverse aircraft, safely stored in short and long-term community hangar space. There’s also plane ramp parking of both the long and the short-term variety.

Full-service aircraft maintenance takes place on-site. Among the Sunair Aviation aircraft available for flight training is an assortment of Cessna, Arrow, Duchess, and Husky (on floats) options, plus a Redbird simulator. 

Additionally, it is notable that a flight academy should help you understand things that are directly related to aviation. As one example, different airplane fuel brands will have different costs. This can be a strong consideration when you’re flying locally or internationally. Sunair Aviation offers Prist, Jet-A, and Avgas.

Also, while in the cockpit, students at Sunair Aviation flight academy get to pilot our fleet of fine flying machines using the finest Lightspeed pilot headsets. 

Find an Airport That’s International, But Not Full of Traffic

International airports will help you have a more well-rounded experience at whichever flight academy you choose. However, international airports are often busy, and this can be stressful. While learning to cope with stress is integral in thinking on your feet during a complex, critical aerial situation, it can also make getting certified more difficult. 

If you can find an international airport that is simultaneously low on traffic, it represents an excellent place to learn. Sunair Aviation offers flight academy services at just such an airport in central Florida. Leesburg International Airport is in a city near surrounded by pristine lakes. The views are excellent from the air, and you can learn more at this low-traffic airport than at a regional one that isn’t international. 

Look for Testing That’s Available On-Site, and Multiple Ratings

Other things to consider may be a bit tangential but are no less important. For example, you want a flight academy that includes Part 141 training. Such training is vetted by the FAA itself, so you know you’re learning all the things you need for safe aviation.

Oftentimes, training comes in tiers. What you’re looking for is solutions calibrated to those seeking private pilot certification, all the way through ATP (Airline Transfer Pilot). Flight simulators can be a key component here.

Additionally, if you can learn on multi-engine craft, educate yourself on sea-landings, get commercial ratings, or learn instruments all in one place, that’s something a strong consideration.

Sunair Aviation offers all these things—and we’ve got professional catering to boot, so you can host your “graduation” ceremony at our FBO if that suits you or those with whom you might train. 

A Flight Academy for All Aspiring Pilots

Sunair Aviation features top-tier flight instructors who offer aviation education on many diverse and popular kinds of aircraft. We keep our airplanes well-maintained and operate our training solutions in adherence to relevant FAA regulations.

Sunair Aviation is a top-tier flight academy. Our Leesburg location gives us access to an international airport that doesn’t have too much traffic yet provides students the opportunity to learn the necessary distinctions such airports come with.

We offer many different levels of certification, and best of all, you can get your certification on your schedule. So, stop dreaming about your career in the sky and contact Sunair Aviation to get your wings. The market is actively seeking new pilots, adventurous opportunity abounds, and you can do it all on your own schedule.