Alex, Pete & Charlie are hands down the most knowledgeable CFIs in Chicago. Whether you are…read moreinterested in starting your aviation career or are looking for a fun Chicago skyline tour, Aeronautics Academy is the place to go!!!

If I could rate this school a zero I would. If you're thinking about learning how to fly, do not go…read morethere. They charge $260 an hour just to be on ground half of the times to practice very far away from Midway. Most of the practices are done at Lewis or Lansing, so why not check out their schools instead if you are commuting all the way there already. One time Abel took me all the way to Kankakee to practice. What a waste of money and time. The instructors don't care about you and they are only hungry for money and building their time. Abel and Alex really suck. Abel does not really know how to teach and needs to work on his confidence. Thy never debrief after or brief before and would still charge for ground every single time. The two planes they have are very clapped out and don't even come with modern technologies such as GPS since they're too cheap. Just do not go to this school, very bad idea.

They closed suddenly within the last year or so. I had paid for a discovery flight which they…read morerescheduled several times due to bad weather, and when I called back to reschedule once again, no one answered. I learned Dean Ellis shut down operations abruptly and I can't get a refund.Apparently Dean also owes his former employees money but he disappeared. I tried contacting multiple people to get a refund but they were unable to help. What a shitty thing to do.

I was interested in Sim lessons. I've been flying for 20 yrs. and wanted to transition to glass…read more I wrote them an e-mail on Sunday to which they responded, answering my initial questions. I called on Mon. to schedule a lesson and was told Liz would call me back. I didn't hear from Liz so I wrote an e-mail on Thurs to which they did not respond. On Friday, I tried again - - no response. I'm disappointed in the poor customer experience but incredulous at the poor business sense. I'll take my business elsewhere. You blew it.

NFB Aviation provided a lot of great information on how to locate a flight program. They have a lot…read moreof great info on the website and study sheets. I will be working with them more closely.

Dear Jakob kieldbierg Instructor you are amazing I would…read morelike to sincerely thank you for the wonderful Discovery Flight experience I had with you. It was very valuable to me and increased my motivation and passion for flying. I also truly appreciate your guidance and patience during the lesson. I am very glad I had this opportunity, and I look forward to learning more from your knowledge and experience in the future. Best regards, Selina

We highly recommend - bought the downtown Chicago flight as a birthday present for my husband and…read morethe experience. far exceeded our expectations. Yes, the views are incredible but you also learn so much. Such a thoughtful and gracious and fun training. I recommend doing the video upgrade. You will have a video before the wheels hit the ground. It's incredible. Jim Kwasek is so engaging with so much to share. He has just the right touch for this work. We are new to the Chicago area and this is a great way to introduce yourself to the city.

Well maintained fleet of airplanes ! Marlon is a great teacher ! Easy to schedule and easy to work…read morewith !

This review is based on a single lesson only as I was visiting from out of town…read more On my journey to get my PPL, I was in Chicago for a work trip and reached out to Boraam Aviation and took a lesson with Marlon, their Chief Flight Instructor. He was thorough in looking through my log book to see what gaps I had in my knowledge toward my license and we decided on a plan to do some instrument practice (along with unusual attitudes). Marlon was very up front and methodical in our lesson. He was very comfortable to fly with and had some great suggestions on maintaining airspeed, heading, steady climbs and descents in IMC. He also gave me some fantastic training in unusual attitudes and gave me a suggestion to focus on the airspeed indicator more so than the attitude indicator in order to determine the best way to recover from unusual attitudes. This was very helpful and I'm glad we went through this in our training. After our lesson, I felt a lot more confident in different maneuvers for the check ride and flying in simulated instrument conditions. This flight school's rental rates are quite a bit lower than any of the surrounding competition (including the flying club at Chicago Executive) and I'm quite sure they have the best prices for aircraft rental. Huge plus. I would highly suggest it! My only gripe and the reason for the 4-star review is that I would have appreciated a little more time in debriefing after the lesson and Marlon really asking questions to re-enforce that I understood what I learned. I had a little confusion with navigating VOR-from ATC commands and although he spent a bit of time explaining it, I would have appreciated him asking more questions to test my knowledge and ensure that I understood everything. The end of the lesson felt a little rushed as I didn't know when his appointment with his next student was (and she was waiting for him while we were debriefing). Other than that, everything was perfect and I would wholeheartedly recommend Boraam Aviation to anyone seeking various flying ratings.

International Flying Club is a volunteer group of pilots and student pilots whose goal is to…read moreprovide an inexpensive way to fly. The club has been around since 1975. There are three planes, two very suitable for primary (beginner) training (Piper Warrior and Cessna 152) and several patient, skilled and friendly instructors. There is also a single engine complex (Piper Arrow). The hourly rates are "wet" which includes fuel. You can get your Private Pilot for around $5k here... not bad! Check out the website and give a call or shoot an email.

Is this business closed? I called and left TWO more messages this past week and still have not…read moregotten a call back.

Flying a hellichopper for the first time is like trying to balance a full martini while riding a…read moreunicycle! Which, is not nearly as easy as it sounds. That said, local flying legend Chris Bachman is the Man and makes you feel comfortable and confident piloting his helicopter. More details to come soon but life is too short to not take a few lessons up at Bachman Aero. I recommend a 30 minute lesson to get your wings wet, then buying a package of 30 and 60 minute flights....

I booked a discovery flight with CityWings at Pilot Pete's as a birthday gift for my husband, and…read moreoverall it ended up being a really memorable experience. Our reservation was scheduled for 4:00 PM, and when we arrived there was a sign outside instructing guests to call or text a phone number upon arrival. I immediately sent a text and waited, but after about 10 minutes I still hadn't received a response. I then tried calling the number multiple times with no luck. By this point, I was getting a little concerned because there wasn't anyone around to check us in or let us know what was going on. Thankfully, a kind gentleman nearby offered to walk across to one of the airport buildings to ask about our reservation. Shortly after, Victoria came out to greet us. She was incredibly sweet, apologetic, and explained that they hadn't realized we were waiting. Unfortunately, by that point it was already around 4:30 PM. Despite the rough start, Victoria completely turned the experience around. She was knowledgeable, professional, and took the time to explain everything thoroughly. She made us feel comfortable and excited about the flight. One of the coolest parts was that she even let my husband take control of the aircraft for a bit, which made the experience even more special. A few things to know before booking: the Discovery Flight is around $100 and only accommodates two people--the instructor and one guest. If you're planning this as a gift, keep that in mind. My biggest complaint was the communication. Ironically, the phone number I had been texting and calling didn't return my call until around 6:00 PM, after the flight was already over and I was practically home. That was definitely disappointing and something I think could be improved. That being said, the actual flight experience was fantastic and made for a unique birthday gift. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and professional. There was another flight company across the airport that appeared to have a more traditional reception area and staff available on-site, although it was significantly more expensive. It may be worth researching both options depending on the experience you're looking for. Overall, I would absolutely recommend CityWings for anyone interested in a discovery flight. Just make sure to confirm your reservation and arrival instructions beforehand. Thanks to Victoria, what started as a frustrating experience ended up becoming a birthday memory we'll always remember.

Sebastian is truly a professional trainer! I bought a 60 minute introductory flight for my…read moredaughter and she loved it! He took her to 2 other local airports so she could practice takeoffs and landings. He took time to explain all the features of the plane - before and after the flight. He also set her up on the simulator in his office both before and after her flight. If you are interested in purchasing a flight - I highly recommend Citywings with Sebastian.