With a stronghold in the South Florida flight training market, Paragon Flight first entered Georgia – the Peach State – in May 2023, when we announced a partnership with LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. Offering a curriculum that provides their students the opportunity to graduate with a minor in aviation, the program is proving to be a popular one, and we welcomed the first full-year cohort this fall.
As our interactions with the college and the community have grown so, too, has our appreciation for the potential in the LaGrange area. An exurb of bustling Atlanta, the region has been underserved in terms of major flight school operators able to meet the growing demand for commercial pilot training and certification. That’s why, when Jacob Luitjens, owner of Airventures, approached us about selling his small but solid flight training school in LaGrange, we wanted to hear more.
As part of our due diligence, it was important to us that Airventures, beyond being a viable enterprise, was also a good corporate citizen. (You’ll recall that being good humans is key to Paragon Flight’s corporate culture.) We learned that Jacob was not only a highly regarded business owner, he had a respected community presence and longstanding connections with LaGrange leaders, including a few first responders/civic leaders who are licensed pilots that serve as flight instructors with the school.
Convinced there was a good business and culture fit, we officially purchased the LaGrange location of Airventures in early November and will begin operating under the Paragon Flight brand effective December 1. (A second Airventures location in Columbus, Georgia, was not purchased by Paragon Flight.) Our plans for a major renovation and modernization of the office and hangar at LaGrange Airport are already underway. We are also planning to hire more full-time flight instructors – a centerpiece of our flight training model – and will be using our own aircraft (mainly Piper p100i’s) for instruction.
From where we sit, Paragon Flight is feeling just peachy about LaGrange, Georgia.
Rendering of Renovation Plans for Paragon Flight Training’s New Location in LaGrange, Georgia.