Great discovery flight today. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere is laid back, non stressful.read more

An amazing school. I moved here from outta state and did my training (cfi) with the new chief…read moreinstructor. I learned so much with this school. The staff has been so awesome. Such a close community. Not stressful one bit. Training is 141 and very precise. Fly socata aircraft. All in house at this location

Can't say enough about Tom and his organization. He is a consummate professional with varied…read moreexperience in many facets of aviation. He is very capable, down to earth and reasonable. He cares about aviation and his passion is evident. His shop is meticulous and organized and he treats owners, employees and students w respect and has a good natured and fun quality about him. I would recommend Tom for any aviation work or training you might need. He performed my last annual and I'll be back again for sure!

From the owner: -Discovery Flights -Aviation Ground Schools…read more-Flight Training and Instruction -Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Certification -Inspection Authorization (IA) Certification -Maintenance -Maintenance Training -Accelerated Aviation Academics(tm) for Transitioning Military and Field-Experienced Personnel -CATS Testing Center / Authorized to give all FAA, FCC, and NCATT written exams. Our services include Aircraft Rentals, Flight Training, Pilot Supplies, provide course and exams for A&P/IA certifications, Aircraft Interiors, Contract Maintenance, Maintenance Training, Annual & PreBuy Inspections and more. T Black Aviation also offers a Pilot Shop with a large variety of pilot supplies and training materials in stock. We invite you to visit our facilities located inside SheltAir at the beautiful St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport.

A wonderful place to learn to fly. The instructors are very knowledgeable and helpful, and make…read moreyour learning their top priority. They know not only how to get you your license, but ensure that you are the safest and most competent when you get in the plane. I would highly recommend this place and their instructors!

Very poor operation, I am a mechanical contractor with outstanding balances owed by Clearwater…read moreAviation. As Someone who has worked with Clearwater Aviation I can tell you that the family members and owners who run it have very poor morals and have cheated me and my staff out of thousands of dollars. Every time we call for payment they offer to bring a check to us that day, we never received a check and their number one excuse is that there in a meeting with the FHA. I called everyday especially during Christmas and bonu times for the team collecting outstanding balances would really help and Clearwater Aviation always has an emergency with the FHA. Clearwater aviation poor leadership is ripping off key providers of service to its organization which leads to you getting a product you paid for but they did not.

Love the instructors. Prices are a little above market average. Availability of aircraft frequently…read morebecomes unavailable due to maintenance, weather, lack of and can get frustrating. Some ground lessons seem unnecessary. Update: I completed my Private Pilot License at TBA for approximately $40,000. Significantly higher than initial expectations. The school increased rates during training, including instructor fees (without corresponding instructor pay increases). During my commercial training using 50% GI Bill benefits, training was halted several months later due to billing disputes. TBA interpreted GI Bill reimbursement as 50% of every invoice up to eligibility limits, while their website policies suggested reimbursement "up to 50%" of total costs. This discrepancy created confusion over payment responsibilities. When I attempted to resolve the overdue balance in good faith, TBA threatened legal action. After I provided documentation showing billing errors, their legal team and leadership agreed to my original settlement offer, though this exceeded what I felt was warranted. Two years later, TBA refused to provide my Biennial Flight Review. I've since found more affordable alternatives for continuing aviation training. Bottom line: Expect higher costs than quoted and carefully review all billing policies before committing.

They are not very organized, I heard over and over that they have a lot of students I should expect…read moreairplanes to be in maintenance often. When I inquired about their maintenance record they would not share.

The owner came out to personally introduce us to his fine pilot, Chris, and his "baby". The…read moreairplane is a truly a treasure and it was a privilege to have this bucket list experience. My thrill seeker boyfriend is already scheming about his next flight with all the bells and whistles. Being new to St Pete, it was uber cool to have a sky high sightseeing tour of the gorgeous beaches and downtown. We will become frequent flyers most definitely!

I received a 60 min flight gift certificate from my husband for Christmas and was back in town and…read moreable to book my flight for today. AWESOME trip! All three guys were great. I decided at the airport to go with the add-ons: flight video and aerobatics. Don't skip the aerobatics- it was icing on the cake! Tiki (my pilot) was phenomenal! My hair was a hot mess when we got finished from the helmet but the sacrifice was worth it!

What an amazing little flight school here at SRQ! I'm so happy that I found this school to begin my…read moreflight training! I looked at two other schools on the airfield as well, and the choice was clear! Everyone here is friendly, professional, and makes me excited to come back for my next lesson! Also, they have a pool table, and I definitely plan on using it! Prices here are also VERY reasonable! If you're looking to start flying, look no further than The Pilot Place!

I have been in the aviation business for over 30 years and highly recommend this flight school. The…read moreaircraft are kept extremely well-maintained and clean and the prices are hard to beat. Don't let the small building for you this is the place to learn with a casual environment and some of the most experience instructors on the field. I have thousands of hours in the air and this is where I get my BFR's done. I can't say enough you won't be disappointing. Tell them Sean sent you!!

Sherman is the absolute best. He is as sharp as a tack and has so much experience to share. I enjoy…read moreevery second I get to spend learning from him. His top priorities are to teach you to be a safe and competent pilot.

I am a full-time executive woman who just randomly decided to take a side quest and get my PPL. My…read moreCFI, Joey Corrado, helped me to get certified in November of last year. His style of training works for me and he seemed to always know when to be choose to be conservative and when to take a risk based on my training and experience. We are now working towards my IFR. St Pete Air has become a home away from home for me. Great community of aviation enthusiasts.

I'm writing this comprehensive review of my year-long PPL training at St. Pete Air to hopefully…read moresave others the frustration, stress, and financial loss I experienced. While working full-time and part-time jobs to fund my dream of flying, I chose St. Pete Air for its cost-effective reputation. Unfortunately, that low cost came with an unacceptable price: a culture of disrespect, dishonesty, and poor leadership that I believe compromises both safety and learning. Chase Brooker - Unprofessional and Unsafe Training Environment: My training began with instructor Chase Brooker, who fostered a "tough guy" persona that translated into a deeply unprofessional and demeaning environment. He would mock mistakes and use verbal insults, including calling me a "queer" for grabbing the yoke with two hands. This hostile commentary makes learning not only unnecessarily stressful but fundamentally unsafe. The breaking point came over a scheduling issue. After 12 consecutive lessons without any cancellations, I had a work emergency and called Chase several hours before our scheduled lesson to cancel--something we had previously discussed as an occasional possibility due to my work commitments. He said it was "no problem," then charged me for two hours of instructor time. When I called to dispute this charge, Chase became confrontational, telling me--and I quote--"you make more money than me and someone has to pay my bills and it might as well be you." He then attempted to "negotiate" down to 45 minutes, treating what should have been professional billing like a shakedown. Management Failure - Danielle Broussard: When I escalated this to management, the response was appalling. Director of Operations Danielle Broussard sided with the instructor, emailing to inform me I was temporarily barred from training with other instructors until they "figured out how to handle the issue." There was no apology, no accountability for the instructor's behavior--just a penalty for speaking up. I was still charged for an hour I never flew. This represents a complete failure of leadership and customer service standards. Financial Dishonesty Continues - Instructor Jack: My second instructor, Jack, was knowledgeable and respectful but continued the pattern of billing irregularities. I personally witnessed him alter a receipt after the fact, physically changing "2.0 hours" to "2.5 hours" after returning from the restroom. On another occasion, when weather forced a flight lesson to become ground instruction, he charged me for two full hours of what amounted to personal war stories with no educational content whatsoever. These practices constitute theft--there's no other way to describe altering receipts and charging for services not rendered. The Exception - Stewart Brackett: The single bright spot in my entire year was instructor Stewart Brackett, who demonstrated the professionalism, respect, and teaching ability that should be standard. He represents what a CFI should be and proves the school could maintain higher standards if management chose to enforce them. Systemic Problems: My experience reveals systemic issues at St. Pete Air. The culture among many young instructors is immature and unprofessional, while management's failure to address serious complaints shows fundamental disrespect for customers. The billing irregularities I witnessed suggest either inadequate oversight or willful ignorance of unethical practices. Final Recommendation: While St. Pete Air offers competitive rental rates for licensed pilots, I strongly advise against using them for training. The financial dishonesty, unprofessional instruction methods, and management's failure to maintain standards make this an unacceptable choice for anyone investing in their aviation education. I completely regret choosing St. Pete Air for my training. I was disrespected, overcharged, and subjected to what I believe were unsafe training conditions. Please take your training investment to a school that values your business, your safety, and maintains basic professional standards.

Amazing flight, I really enjoyed it - Peaceful" 5 of 5 stars…read more My flight was delightful, I chose an early morning flight to avoid the heat of the day and the temp up in the air was perfect! Dane, the pilot, had good communication in preparation for the flight, has a very calm demeanor, explains everything well and gives insightful information during the flight. I bravely took the controls for a little bit! It is a very peaceful experience to see GODS creation from above with no obstructions. I even got to see a few Dolphins and a stingray from up in the sky. This was a once in a lifetime experience and I am certainly glad I did it . To compensate for the fact that I know I get sea sick on boats and have felt a bit queasy on helicopter flights, I took a Dramamine 45 minutes before , followed by the very rare consumption of a cafe latte to counter act the drowsiness that could happen with a Dramamine. Whether it was the the excellence of the flight or the working of my pro active measures, I did not have one second of queasiness, nor did I have one second of fearfulness or was I uncomfortable. Take off and landing was AMAZINGLY smooth. It was so very peaceful. Thank you Dane.

This is ridiculously fun! Dane is a great pilot and allows you to steer the plane over the beach…read moreand bank a couple of turns. The views are great and the experience even better.