We tend to put our attention on the “now”, living our lives day to day, focused on what our next goal is, or the current problem in front of us. So looking back at the end of the year, it’s often surprising how much has happened. We’d like to share with our followers a look at 4 big milestones that have happened at Thrust Flight in 2019.
Won AOPA Distinguished School of the Year
With the help of our students, Thrust Flight was honored to be the only flight school at Addison Airport to be recognized in 2019 by AOPA as a Distinguished Flight School of the Year. Coupled with that, our Academy Director Bob Choate was the only instructor at Addison Airport to be recognized as a Distinguished Flight Instructor of the Year.
This was validation of all our hard work throughout the last year. We look forward to rising to the challenge of bringing this quality to our students in 2020.
Expanded our Fleet
In preparation for expected growth in 2019, we added 5 new aircraft to our fleet. This included an air conditioned 2019 model fresh from the factory.
We are continuing in 2020 to add more aircraft to our fleet and will maintain our standards when it comes to having the best quality aircraft we can provide for our students.
Monthly CFI Academies
In 2019 demand for our Academy grew so much that we were required to host monthly classes, doubling the previous years bimonthly academies.
Our academy, under the leadership of Bob Choate, has grown to legendary status in the aviation community. With over 40% of each class hearing about us via word of mouth, the CFI Academy has become the face of our school.
In 2019 we graduated over 240 students that came to us from more than 10 different countries. It truly has become a “World-Famous CFI Academy.”
Launch of Zero Time to Airline
This is of course the most exciting part of 2019 for Thrust Flight. In just 5 months since launching the program, classes are now filled through the first 2 months of 2020 and there are no signs of slowing down.
We are thrilled to have a projected 105-120 new ZTA Students in 2020. At this pace over 200 airline pilots will complete the full program and move onto the airlines within the next 2 years.
Perhaps the most exciting part of this is the pace we have managed to keep up. Our students in the commercial phase of the program have completed this milestone in 5-7 months. Nearly all students have completed private and instrument in less than 4 months private and instrument in less than 4 months. And the quality of our pilots is phenomenal. Looking at the momentum of the program through 2019, we couldn’t be more excited to see where our students will be at this time in 2020.
As we continue to grow and expand in 2020, we will maintain focus on the quality of our instructing. Ensuring our quality does not suffer due to expansion is paramount, and we are excited to take on the challenge going into next year.
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Liz Brassaw is a first officer for a regional airline and the former Chief Pilot and Chief Flight Operations Officer for Thrust Flight. She is a Designated Pilot Examiner and holds an ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI, AMEL, ASES with over 2,500 hours of flight instruction given. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the Utah Valley University School of Aviation Sciences.