Bought this experience as a birthday gift from my No. 1 dude. Not only did he have a wonderful…read moretime, it was fun to watch. The trainer who sat by him the whole time was patient and informative. He did a wonderful job of supporting him and easing him through the process. Such great service and fun! Love it!

It is almost perfect, but it is a cube with some plastic chairs. My cousin had fun though so yeah.read more

Affordable. Well-run. Safe. Friendly. Hard to beat that combination…read moreIf you're looking for the best value in general aviation, this is it. Stick & Rudder delivers low hourly rates without cutting corners. The planes are well-maintained, clean, and clearly cared for -- not worn-out trainers. What really sets this place apart, though, is the people. The instructors and members genuinely want you to succeed. Whether you're a brand-new student pilot or building time, there's a culture of support here that you just don't find everywhere. Affordable. Well-run. Safe. Friendly. Hard to beat that combination.

Very good operation ! Safe and fun is included ! Lots of experience involved. Many years growing..read more

Dave is one of the best instructor in the country. He has such a calmness to his tone of voice and…read moreinstructions during the training. Without Dave, we wouldn't have gotten our licenses. We purchased LSA before the training and he didn't even hesitate to instruct us in a different aircraft. If anyone is planning to get their license near Chicago area, this place is a must. Also, if you just want to see / feel how flight instruction is like, then take their introductory flight and/or flight tour of down town Chicago! I would highly suggest to take their introductory flight during the holiday season! Simply fly is simply awesome!

Fantastic airplane and the introductory flight was amazing! Made me feel very welcome and got some…read moregreat information. I would highly recommend giving simply fly a chance. It's my top pick.

Skill is no longer the school that used to win awards 10 years ago. Time seems to have frozen for…read moreit around then along with its website that still features instructors who are long gone. You would be doing yourself a disservice by paying the premium rates it demands for instruction that is often mediocre at best, from junior instructors who seem to only be interested in getting to the 1500 hour mark. You can get very experienced, Gold Seal instructors who have been doing this for many years and are only interested in your development as a pilot, for much less. Focus is often primarily on flying and inadequate time spent on ground and reviews. Some programs lack a syllabus entirely, if you are one who looks for red flags. There is a very deep sense of apathy among its staff. The scheduling is often chaotic (timeslots not respected, or you may show up to the airport and they'll tell you that the aircraft is actually in maintenance or somewhere else) and staff behavior unprofessional. You may schedule a flight worth thousands, weeks in advance, to only find out a few days before the flight that someone changed the times or even cancelled it without even letting you know.

We booked an exploratory flight with Tayyab, we drove 30 minutes only to have this instructor pull…read morea no show. Extremely unprofessional.

I enjoyed my experience at Chicago O'Hare! There were many food options, everything was well kept,…read moreand they even had a cool light tunnel. Overall a really good experience!

Awesome people! I did my PPL here and this is a great place to learn how to fly. In my experience…read morehere all of the instructors have been nice and knowledgeable! Instructors, dispatch and everyone else has been amazing! (Especially Adam, Amy, and Natalie) I fully recommend Blue Skies!

Had a fun, exciting private flight around Chicago for my fiancé's birthday. Mo was super friendly…read moreand accommodating and we felt very safe. Thanks Mo!

We (two passengers) went in a 6-seater plane ride over scenic downtown Chicago! We had a great…read moreexperience and felt very safe throughout the ride! Pilot was experienced and provided great information throughout. We would highly recommend, even for those who may be a little nervous/apprehensive beforehand.

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.

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.

I was looking for that perfect birthday gift for a friend. You know the one, where everyone…read morewonders, "Why didn't I think of that?". So after considering all the options for this special guy (everything from sports memorabilia to electronics) I finally decided on a gift that would put his head in the clouds. That's right! Airplane rental! Now, of course, it helped that he is a licensed pilot so that part was taken care of. But I had to find an airport and someplace that would rent him a plane- and the kind of plane that he knows how to fly. Enter Illinois Aviation Academy. They are located out at the Du Page airport and rent about 6 different types of airplanes, from Arrow to Cesna, Piper to Diamond. Since an Arrow was what I was looking for, my search was over. And the even better news is that they have licensed instructors that will do the pre-flight approval. Prices are in line with other places with the Arrow going for $165 an hour (wet) with the pre flight coming in at around $65. It was also nice to see it was a new plane (2004). This is a well run place with the school located at one end of the hanger, and for the more experienced pilots, the lounge and preflight room are like being in a nice club somewhere. And the lucky part? My friend wanted to take me with him when he went flying and so we were off for a picnic lunch in another state soaring over the lakes and trees. And all I could do was marvel that you can rent a plane almost as simply as you can rent a car. Talk about a perfect day! Not for everyone- but if you are looking to rent a plane- give Illinois Aviation Academy a call. And your head can be in the clouds too!

I'm a pilot that got out of flying for a while and wanted to get back in. A friend of mine…read morerecommended Illinois Aviation. First impressions were fantastic. There is a lot of energy in the building. They have lots of people around, lots of flight instructors and lots of planes. From the front desk people to the instructors, all are super helpful and nice. This isn't your grandpa's flight school. I'm older but the place is filled with a big mix of people. Young, old, guys, gals. Everybody seems like they're trying to learn to fly. Which is a good thing today as it's all about experiences! The owner Bob is around often and more than willing to chat with you if you have questions. One Sunday I walked in a got a big hello from an instructor, not my instructor, but just a guy behind the desk. My lessons with Ben have gone very well. He is a great guy! Flying is the coolest thing you can do. They'll give you an introduction flight if you want to try it out. Call today and set up a time to have them take you up for an intro flight, you will be hooked.