What Are The Top Flying Schools In The U.S.?

If you’re shopping around for a quality aviation education and want to know which are the top flying schools in the U.S., look toward institutions with recognition by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) like Paragon Flight.

The qualities that make a flight school worthy of recognition are the same elements that set the table for successful training experiences. We are in pursuit of client satisfaction by promoting safe, capable pilots while leaving room for fun. As you continue your aviation pursuits, we want to earn your loyalty and see you back time after time. From complete newbies to experienced pilots interested in mastering new technology, our courses suit pilots across the continuum.

While all flight schools operate under the authority of the FAA, most operate under one Part of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR). Paragon Flight is one of the few flight schools with dual authorizations, so we operate under Parts 141 and 61. The difference between the programs centers around structure. Part 141 courses follow a very strict syllabus, mandated by the FAA while Part 61 courses provide greater flexibility. We can curate a program for all of our students, so time, money, and life’s challenges need not stand in the way of your upward-focused dreams.

Part 141 programs are actually required for a few students, including international students on an M-1 student visa, veterans using GI funds, and traditional students with government-supported loans or grants. We’re able to welcome these students just as we do non-traditional students taking vacation time to pursue an accelerated training course.

Whether you complete a training program under Part 141 or Part 61, the check ride faced at the end of the program and the license received will be the same.

The training that you can pursue here at Paragon Flight isn’t really limited. We have a full fleet with the standard aircraft for training. For single-engine flight, we offer the Piper PA28 “Pilot,” a model designed specifically for learning to fly, and for multi-engine training, we rely on the PA-44 Seminole, the favorite of trainers for decades for its predictability and safety. For specialty training, transition and differences training, high-performance endorsements, and rentals, we house the Cirrus SR20. While not literally capable of taking off and landing, the ALSIM AL172 Flight Simulator that our students have at their disposal will give all of the training found with the real thing without the cost or risk.

Our full catalog of training speaks to the needs of the private, commercial, and military pilot.

Private pilots can earn their Private Pilot Licenses (PPL), Instrument Flight Ratings (IFR), Multi-Engine License (MEL), Cirrus Certified Aircraft training, and Glass Cockpit technology training.

For commercial pilots, we offer Commercial Single-Engine and Multi-Engine (CSEL and CMEL) License training, Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) training, and Certified Flight Instructor (CFI, II, MEI) training for single- and multi-engine as well as instrument instruction.

We’re also proud to be the go-to for area military installations, providing Initial Flight Orientation (IFO) training for basic training bound pilots, Single Engine Recurrent Training (SERT) for military crews, rotary-wing to fixed-wing transition training for military or civilian helicopter pilots making the transition to airlines, and aircraft transition and differences training for military and government pilot professionals.

Click here if you’d like to learn more about what are the qualities that make Paragon Flight one of the top flying schools in the U.S.