I highly recommend training at Scottsdale Executive Flight Training. Currently as a 777 Pilot and certified flight instructor myself, I sent my daughter here after a disastrous time at Sierra Charlie Aviation. She spent over 6 months at Sierra Charlie Aviation and because of their incompetence, lack of awareness and poor scheduling, I pulled my daughter out of their program and sent her to Scottsdale Executive Flight Training. She was paired up with her instructor Maddie Moles, whom I cant say enough good things about. Under Maddie's supervision and instruction, my daughter, Calie has far exceeded and excelled at this flight school. They keep you informed, aware of progress and have a plan in place to keep their students moving forward at all times. Not only was Maddie instrumental in Calie's progress, the Chief pilot and head of Cessna training, Nick Lane, went above and beyond to make sure Calie was ready to pass her check ride without issues. Calie is looking forward to continuing training here at Scottsdale Executive! read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training - Calie Puleio passing her Private Pilot Checkride. - Flight Instruction Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

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Booked a surprise flight pilot ride for my wife on here birthday, however, it was a flop, and the flight was canceled on her birthday due to bad weather. We got to know about it once we reached the airport. Anyways we had to reschedule and as per availability, got for 2 weeks later. My wife loved it and it was a nice experience overall. Not easy to handle Cessna's but worth the once-in-a-lifetime experience. The pilot who flew with my wife was nice and welcoming. He engaged in small talk and did not let my wife bore me during the flight by answering all the queries. Taking away one star since I had to followup multiple times for the downgrade difference refund. read more

I'm currently flying with SEFT and i could not be more impressed! My Instructor Andrew has been nothing but awesome. If you are looking to start your flying career Andrew will make sure you hit all you're goals in a reasonable time frame and will always make time to make sure his students are progressing through there journey with as much knowledge as possible! The flight school offers amazing planes with great prices. read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training makes up tire damage fees, extra fuel charges, and attempts to fear monger you into accepting by threatening to charge more if you disagree. They also have a revolving door of flight instructors which is a big red flag. Do some research before learning to fly or rent from Scottsdale Executive Flight Training. There is a much better flight school at Scottsdale Airport that has a bigger fleet of Cirrus and charges less without making up charges. read more

Zero stars. Run away from here. When I was ready to start flight training, their "Chief" Taylor Bishop Instructor set me up with one instructor - Gabriel Boysen. Chief mentioned all Gab's students had completed their check rides and his schedule is completely free. Into the first or second lesson it became very evident I am his first and only student. Gab called the static wick as extra antennas. Later my invoices came and I was shocked. For 2 hours of flight time, he would charge me 2 hours of flight instruction time and like 1.5 hours of ground instruction time. We'd just meet at the car park and head directly to the plane. The moment I pointed it out to him, he refused to remove them and he got quite angry with me during his flight instructions. And because I was his only student, he'd keep forcing me to take instructions on an every day basis even though I'd told multiple times I would tell him whenever I am ready for the next flight. I lost lot of $ in over billing but after some debate they agreed to knock off some. I still haven't recovered it all back and just had to let it go. After that horrible experience, I moved to another instructor who was quite knowledgable, taught me flying well and was fun to work with. Once my instructor was not available, so I flew with one of their senior Instructors: Jarren Nesbitt. Jarren had instructed me to keep flying straight on the downwind since there was a plane on the final. Moments later, tower informed me, "Base turn approved". I acknowledged that back to tower over the radio, started configuring, turned base and after a few seconds turned final. When I was on the short final and seconds from landing, he said, "I told you to go straight, why did you turn base?". I told him, "Tower cleared me for the base turn, there is no one in the base or final and hence I turned". He again asked in a yelling tone, "WHY DID YOU TURN BASE WHEN I TOLD YOU TO FLY STRAIGHT?". Imagine flying with a guy like this as your instructor giving you this much stress. I literally had to ask him to stop our instruction right away and get back to ground. Even after getting back on the ground, more yelling continued. Ideally his CFI license should be revoked. Not sure what Jarren told Chief, Taylor called me the next day and said he wants to see me fly and pulled me out of my usual instructor. He did eventually allow me to solo and I had 3 hours and 9 landings of solo time. However even after 7 hours of dual cross country time, he still wants another 3.5 hours of cross country time with him. His reasoning for not allowing Solo: I didn't punch in destination's ATIS info prior to leaving from departure airport. Just right after departure in the beginning of my second cross country flight, he said he wanted to see one more without even seeing how I performed on the flight. To add to his reasoning, he took over the entire radio prior to landing in a non-towered airport. I could see where he was going with his reasoning and I did all the radio calls departing out of the non-towered airport and in all the other segments of the flight. In the same sentence he mentioned it took him 90 hours for his Private Pilot and he is still paying his student loans. If he really was in my best interest, he could have instead opted for one shorter cross country to cover all the things he wants to see prior to clearing me. It was getting obvious he wanted to get his debt cleared. When I asked the Taylor if he was really working in my best interest or not, he got defensive and said I was questioning his integrity. He lost his integrity on day 1 when he blank faced lied to me saying he was setting me up with his senior instructor who in reality had never ever instructed any student. Taylor later texted me that if I ever questioned his judgement again or tried to cut corners, I will not be a student anymore in their school. He refused to let me switch instructors or go back to my usual instructor even though my usual instructor was ready to take me back. Looks like I hurt his ego. Their management weren't ready to talk to me either and finally they relieved me from their school. They have even sent me a 'Notice of Cease and Desist Harassment' email to remove the reviews I've posted on social media like Yelp, Facebook and Google. read more

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Wanted to get my pilots license and I did it here. Did not plan on anything more but i enjoyed it so much that I ended up pursuing my instrument rating as well! Everyone who I've worked with here are absolute professionals and friendly! Taylor, Matt, and Peyton are great instructors. Very knowledgeable and I would highly recommend them for flight training! read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training - Flight Instruction Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

In the Signature Flight Support facility, which is state of the art. The flight school is nice, new and organized. We chose a discovery flight in a Sirrus SR20 with full glass instruments , the technology and aircraft was second to none. My instructor Taylor was friendly and skilled. I would highly recommend this for training. read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training - Great discovery flight with Taylor - Flight Instruction Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

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I flew down from Denver because the flight school there was unable to get me in the air and complete my private pilot training. I chose Scottsdale Executive versus the competition because of the reviews and I was not disappointed. Landon and the Scottsdale Executive team were amazing and got me to the finish line. Because of high turnover, I have experienced 5 different instructors in Denver. In comparison to all those CSIPs, Landon is by far the best instructor I have ever had and Scottsdale Executive is by far a much better choice. I would highly recommend them. read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training - First solo flight. - Flight Instruction Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

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I received a gift certificate for a discovery flight lesson ($300 value) that had no expiration date on it. 2.5 years later I went to book the "discovery flight" experience for my 13 year old son. They would not honor the gift certificate saying it expired after 6 months. It did not say it expired anywhere on the certificate and Arizona law says gift certificates are valid for four years. They said too bad, you are out of luck, and offered a discount to $260 if I wanted to buy it for him. (Is that crazy- like I'd give them another $1) There are several flight school at Scottsdale airport- I'd recommend using one that will not steal your money and will take care of a customer. Update: Your response is crazy, false, and obviously not from a company that prides themselves on customer service 1. You tried to accommodate me by offering a 15% discount which I noted above. 2. You have the gift certificate on your books, acknowledging it when I called, but say it's a different company? 3. You asked me to email you a copy of the certificate- how did you want me to do that other than email which you requested? It's absurd you would try to turn that on me! 4. Who buys a gift certificate for themselves? Of course it was a gift and purchased by someone else. 5. Finally- How was I rude? By writing a yelp review saying you wouldn't redeem something you sold. No wonder you keep changing the name of the company. read more

Safe, professional and great people. Would recommend this great operation to anyone. If your simply trying to get your pilots license or looking to advance your knowledge this is the place you want to go. The team at SEFT is awesome! read more

SEFT and their CFI made false promises and gave misleading information about their training procedures so that they could get as much money from me as possible before I had to cut my losses. They withheld information about their requirements until I was already significantly committed financially in an attempt to keep me coming back for as many hours and rentals as they could squeeze out of me instead of being upfront and transparent about what they were going to charge and require from me as a transfer student with only a couple of PPL minimums left. Their follow-up explanation was that they didn't know the requirements before and that's why they didn't explain them from the start. Whether it was deliberate or not, SEFT chose not to make any reparations or compensation for their mistakes/unethical choices that cost me heavily in time and money. I do not trust the intentions or morals of SEFT's CFI or managers. read more

I received my Instrument Rating with them. All of my instructors were very professional knowledgeable and understanding to my learning style. Taylor and Kendall have years of experience and gave me memorization techniques which helped me retain the material. The Airplanes are very well kept and they make scheduling very very easy with no pressure. I'm getting my commercial rating with them through CFii. I highly recommend this school! They are affordable and understanding to my Homelife and Schedule in case a cancellation of a flight may occur. Just down right awesome people and equally awesome pilots! If I could give them 10 stars I would. read more

What an incredible experience! My fiancé and I booked the flight to Sedona (with lunch) promotion. It was also for my fiancé to get some flight hours as he's becoming a pilot himself. His instructor was Matt Baum, who I can not say enough good things about. He was fantastic! So friendly, competent, knowledgeable, and communicative. He was great to fly with and not at all pushy about anything. He let my fiancé fly as much as possible and was so well educated and spoken that his explanations were easy to follow. We profoundly enjoyed ourselves! read more

BACKGROUND I originally got into flying when my mom bought a small plane when I was in high school. Being around planes put the flying bug into me, so I started taking flying lessons and always loved it. Unfortunately, I had to stop flying when I went to medical school, but I never stopped wanting to get my private pilots license. I was browsing around Yelp over the weekend and found a compelling review for Scottsdale Executive Flight Training and contacted the reviewer. He highly recommended the instructor Carl May. Well, I had my first flight with Scottsdale Executive Flight Training today! A LOT has changed since the Cessna days. SCOTTSDALE EXECUTIVE FLIGHT TRAINING Although they have several Cessnas available to rent/train on, the cool kids fly the Cirrus. Scottsdale Executive Flight Training has 3 Cirrus models: SR20, SR22, SR22T. I tried the 2010 Cirrus SR20 G3 200 HP, Fuel Injected, 155 KTAS with Garmin Perspective Avionics & Synthetic Vision System, AC, Jeppesen Charts & Approach Plates, Active Traffic Warning System, Terrain Awareness Warning System, Sirius XM Radio, XM NEXRAD Weather, Dual GPS/AHRS/12" monitors/Garmin Autopilot, Airframe Parachute & Bose headsets. SERVICE EXPERIENCE Besides the amazing planes, I couldn't be more impressed with the Instructor Carl May. He was everything you want in an instructor: firstly an excellent pilot & extremely knowledgeable. He is also very easy going and knows how to make flying lessons fun. The facilities were impeccable. CONCLUSION There is nothing that could have made my experience more perfect! 5/5 RECOMMEND OF NOTE *For more information: ScottsdaleFlightTraining.com read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training - Phoenix on fleek - Flight Instruction Near Me - Scottsdale, Arizona

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I was initially hesitant to choose a flight school so far away from my home, but after going for a few weeks I knew I made the right choice. The price for rentals is great, the instructors are informative, friendly, and patient. EVERYTHING I need to start my pilot certifications. Thanks, Scottsdale Executive! read more

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training is the best flight training center in AZ. They have a full fleet of well-maintained aircraft (both Cirrus and Cessna) for your training and rental needs. Their pilots are top notch. They are skilled in the operation of aircraft and well-versed in all aspects of flight training. They also have modern state of the art facilities. The dispatchers are very accommodating and they provide the best service I have ever experienced. Scottsdale Executive Flight Training is A++++++! read more

A state of the art flight school with excellent instructors (Peyton the lead CFII is great). Aircraft and support personnel are top notch and they are very willing to accommodate your schedule and needs. I have a highly variable schedule and SEFT is always willing and flexible enough to change things around as needed. read more

My 15 year old son has been taking flight lessons in their Cessna 172's for the past two years. The staff is very professional and helpful. I am never nervous about my son being up in the air with the instructors. Their aircraft are well maintained and they will not fly them if they are in need of even the slightest repair. We plan to continue taking lessons with them and eventually get my son's private pilot's license as well. read more

Look no further if you're wanting to get your pilot certificates. The instructors here really know there stuff and want to make learning to fly the most enjoyable experience you'll ever have. I received my commercial certificate and recently got my CFI here. read more

I contacted Alliance 3 weeks ago to get help knocking off the rust from not flying for 8+ years. I was put in touch with Tanner within 24 hours and back in the sky within a week. Tanner was great to fly with, clearly knowledgeable about the aircraft and the area. With Tanner's help I was able to regain proficiency and confidence quickly and am now back in the saddle and looking forward to all sorts of adventures in Alliance's well-maintained rental fleet. I highly recommend Alliance and specifically Tanner for anyone looking to get into (or back into) flying! read more

Very professional place with excellent location, amenities and staff. Chief Instructor May is VERY good. He practices a very smart approach to teaching. Calm, constructive, observant, positive and casual yet professional. I did their Cirrus Transition Training, and could not be more happy with the experience! read more

I was impressed with the facility but even more impressed with Tanner Allen my CFI. Getting my private pilot has been a long term dream but without the support from Scottsdale Executive it won't be reality. It's been over a year from my first visit and the service is still impressive. read more

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I love SEFT! My instructor's are helpful, professional, and a blast to be around. I plan on sticking with them at least through my instrument certification and I definitely recommend them to anyone looking to learn to fly. read more

Great place to learn. This flight school has an owner that really cares. He is very honest (which is hard to find in aviation). I am sure you will be happy going here. read more

I had both good and less than great experiences. One instructor I really liked as I did the Cirrus SR20 transition. Nice guy, but hard to get ahold of. All these guys were building time. Their chief instructor at the time departed. The new Chief set up times with me way in advance, but inevitably bailed out as he was also flying right seat for a small charter and also wanted longer trips/ lessons. He would swap me to another instructor and never let me know. The Scottsdale terminal is very nice, one of the best I have seen. There are alot of high end customers there. I only trained on the "Cirrus Side" so can't comment on the Cessna side. I have been flying a long time and don't know if it is a new trend or just these guys, but they charged for every minute they were there. If they sent you out to preflight the plane and you were out there by yourself, they charged your ground time. Sitting chatting about football in the terminal when you first got there.... you got charged ground time. I have never seen this before. One long flight with an instructor we stopped remotely for lunch. I bought the instructor a really nice lunch. No bid deal right? When I got my flight bill,... he charged me ground time for while he sat there eating. Really? 20 years of flying and have not seen that before. He also argued with me about the top of the airspace we were transitioning and said we should climb higher. I reluctantly started to climb and then ATC came on and chewed us for climbing in to their airspace. A forgivable mistake, but I expected him to concede that my route planning was correct. On the good side, planes were clean (had A/C!) and in general good shape. We only had one mechanical issue ever. I did sense my instruction went more lessons than needed. I heard other students also say that in general they did seem to drag out instruction longer than required when students are ready, especially for simple transitions to Cirrus (there are minimums for this, but they seem to force it beyond that and never seemed in a hurry to get you done.) Other positives, front desk help is very good as are the line folks. If you are thinking of learning to fly here, in general I think the instructors are knowledgeable. They charge a premium for being Cirrus certified. Just be prepared for a VERY expensive undertaking on the Cirrus side. They want folks that don't care on costs and want an upscale aircraft and experience.This is Ok, if that is where you are in life. Be aware Scottsdale airport charges a TON of extra fees, taxes and extra expenses and SEA passes those on (not their fault.) Also, since they are buying their fuel from Signature, you pay a premium on fuel and can't really self fuel. Finally, this is a one runway airport. I personally have been #1 for departure on Runway 21 and sat for over 20 min (with the engine running and the instructor getting paid of course) as IFR departure after departure went ahead of me, as well as all the incoming jet traffic got priority. We had to go to KFFZ for pattern work. The tower will generally prioritize those over you and understandably you will pay full price for sitting there. So, overall - good planes, mostly good instructors, pricey environment/ policies. read more

Be aware of the fact that they rent dry and you need to wait until Landmark gets around to fueling your aircraft after you return. I waited over 45 minutes to finally settle my bill!! read more

Fantastic school with great instructions! If you're looking for a flying school, I highly recommend learning here!

Back in April, 2018 I finished my PPL training at SEFT and because of my excellent experience with the school I returned for my Instrument training which I just recently completed. After my positive experience with my PPL training I did not even consider another flight school for my Instrument training. I did all my training in their Cirrus SR 20"s. What a wonderful plane to fly and train in. Carl May was my primary instructor and he was the best. He was very professional and most important extremely patient. On those days where it seems you are regressing he was always there to provide the support and advice needed. Peyton Lindbloom was my instructor when Carl was not available. As with Carl you cannot go wrong with Peyton. An excellent pilot and instructor who just loves to fly. I am retired and took flying lessons to learn and have fun and to fulfill something I have always wanted to do. SEFT fulfilled that dream for me. I hope to continue with my training and it will be done at SEFT. If you are considering taking flying lessons you will not go wrong with SEFT. read more

Awesome flight school! The staff is friendly, instructors are knowledgeable, and the aircraft are well maintained with advanced avionics.

Scottsdale Executive hires the most knowledgeable and professional staff. It's a family owned business providing the best and outstanding flight training services in Scottsdale, AZ. They cater to younger, professionals and retired clients that have passion for aviation. Their facilities are absolute impeccable!!! read more

I've been taking flight instruction here since May of 2017. After earning my Private Pilot Certificate, I began working with my instructor, Shalyn, on my Instrument Rating. There's beginning to be a great community of ladies flying out of here which is awesome to have. I recommend both Scottsdale Executive as well as Shalyn for instruction! read more

Great flight school! I've been flying with them for the past 2 months and it has been great. They have well maintained planes and the flight instructors are very professional and and are a great help to anyone who wants to learn how to fly! read more

I would highly recommend Alliance Flight Schools. Dave Thomas helped me with my instruction and really understands high level customer service. My schedule is really busy and Dave did a fabulous job of being prompt and thorough in meeting my needs for a flight proficiency check ride. He even offered to have me call his personal cell phone in the evening to coordinate a training plan. Their aircraft are second to none and are meticulously maintained. Top notch operation that makes it easy to do business with them. read more

A fantastic program. I got to fulfil a lifelong dream. My thanks to the school and the instructors.