testimonials

Here are the feelings of the people who know us best, our pilots and students. Many have come from far way, and their US flight training means a lot, in terms of experience, expense, and future opportunity. And they all seem to leave us with a happy feeling.

We think the words and feelings expressed here explain about US flight training at Flight Academy of New Orleans far better than we can.

If you received training with us, and want to tell us how you feel about your flight training in the United States just click here to enter your comments.

When you make your choice of flight school, we hope you consider these important facts:

1. Class Size: We limit our class sizes and accept only the best candidates.

2. Available Aircraft: You can fly very often - You stay in tip-top shape and acquire your flying skills faster.

3. Personal Attention: You are assisted every step of the way - It DOES make a difference in how quickly you complete your certifications.

• Jaspreet Singh Sodhi - New Delhi India

  “ I pursued my flying training at FANO and the experience of being there was simply awesome. It was like a home away from home. To start with the accomodation provided by the school is comfortable, safe and close to the shopping center. The flying school has 7 aircrafts (3 c-152s,a c-172,a piper archer,a c-172 RG & a piper seneca) and about 15 Indian students, apart from a few local students, so it was never really a problem to find an airplane when you wanted it. Also the school has 6 instructors making a comfortable sudent-to-instructor ratio. The camaraderie shared by the students and instructors is great. The instructors go out of their way to help the students. They would fly late at night with us and then be back in the morning. Sometimes they would also fly with us on sundays. And to top it all we have a great friend and a big brother in the form of Mr. Ankur Hukmani who is also the President of the institution. I still miss those study sessions learning the intricacies of instrument flying from him. And if you are lucky you get to accompany him as a co-pilot on king air flights which is a learning experience of its kind. The good thing about new orleans is the weather. It has good weather almost throughout the year. Hardly you will find a day that is not suitabe for flying. In all, I will cherish each and every moment of the 7 months that I have spent at FANO and I wish each and everyone associated with this institution good luck. ”

• Christopher LeBlanc - New Orleans, Louisiana

  “ I have been flying at FANO for over a year now and have enjoyed every moment of it. The instructers at FANO are knowledgeable and proffessional plus they are laid back and fun to learn with. You really feel comfortable at FANO and enjoy learning to fly on there large fleet of 7 aircraft. In a short time I went from knowing nothing about flying to becoming a real confident pilot. FANO has been a real help and lots of fun! ”

• Richard Flournoy - Lubbock, TX USA

  “ I started at Flight Academy of NOLA while on an extended business trip having most of my work complete for my Private Pilot license. I had about 60 days left in the area and wanted to complete it before returning home. The staff at Flight Academy went the extra mile to accommodate my hectic schedule and prepare me for the check ride. I passed on the first attempt! Thank you Flight Academy. I highly recommend Flight Academy of NOLA for your flight training. ”

• Bryce Nelson - River Ridge, LA

  “ The people, facilities, and prices are great! Big thanks to Flight Academy and all their great staff for helping me get my Private! I never had any doubt about my abilities and training. ”

• Darren Mahler - Metairie, LA

  “ My experience at FANO was awesome. The instructor that I had was experienced, very knowledgeable and extreemly patient. They use a progressive style of instruction that does not waste alot of your time and money. When you are finished you can be assured that you will be ready for your FAA checkride. The new facility is beautiful and very spacious, and the owners are some of the nicest people that you will ever meet. FANO makes learning to fly fun!!! ”

• Mayur Agarwal - Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh India

  “ As we all know there's an aviation boom in India. Everyone wants to start the career as a Pilot. The first step in this career is to find a best flying club and at this time almost all the flying clubs in the US are full of students, more than 100/200 per flight school. Flight Academy of New Orleans is the only flying club which has 18 students and the student to instructor and aircraft ratio is good. We have 7 instructors and 9 aircraft. The training is good. On top of it, the owner is an Indian, Mr. Ankur Hukmani. This makes it easier to communicate and share your thoughts with him. We are like a family out here ”

• Diwakaran Prabhakaran - Chennai, Tamil Nadu India

  “ People say that a pilot is always prepared for the worst day ever, and I believe that all the instruction given here is based on real time examples which make us not only good pilots but safe pilots. I came here from another flight school and people here helped me remember that flying could actually be fun. The instructors and fleet here are very promising and they help you complete the whole commercial pilot's license course in as little time as possible. We get to fly everyday, which gives us a lot of confidence when we venture out in solo flight ”

• Deepak Rangan - Chennai

  “ The place of stay provided by the flight school is really nice. The apartment has two bedrooms shared by four people, a living room, a kitchen, and, of course, bathrooms. The living room has two nice and comfortable couches which relaxes you after a long day at the school. The kitchen has a microwave, electric stove, refrigerator, and all cutlery is provided. The complex has one swimming pool, gym, and a Jacuzzi. The area is really pleasant and cool, so have a great time and enjoy your stay! The VISA is the only big hurdle to start your flying in the US - That’s what most people think! In my opinion, they are mistaken. Just be confident, communicate well, and have all your documents prepared. So get ready! Get your VISA and fly into a great career! ”

• Gaurav Cane - Meerut, Uttar Pradesh India

  “ It's been a pleasure to be at FANO. This is a good flight school with everything a pilot could need. The people are really friendly and I am grateful to be here. FANO is also just a short walking distance from the ramp. The accommodations are superb, with all the necessary facilities like gym, swimming pool, good parking and pretty nice neighbors. The flight school is like a family. People are always there for you with helping hands and you can never feel alone. I strictly feel that this flying school is better than any other where you are always confused and don't know what to do. Here, you are always welcomed with a smile. Here the instructors are good and scheduling flights is never really a big problem. I am obliged to be at this place. I would refer all my friends to FANO ”

• Paresh Prabhu - Santa Cruz, Mumbai

  “ The school has three Cessna 152’s, two Cessna 172’s, Piper Seneca, and all airplanes are maintained in good condition and abide by stringent maintenance standards set by the FAA. The school has structured and systematic way of teaching the ground lessons as well as flight lessons. All the doubts are attended to until they are clear. The instructor gives us a pre-flight briefing on lessons that would be practiced in the airplane. Based on our performance we are graded. In that way we know our progress which helps us do better the next time we take that lesson. Once word that comes to mind when I think of FANO is commitment! The instructors are always willing to answer the quiries whether in the plane or on the ground. In fact they have Q&A sessions to test our knowledge and brush up on topics we are not very confident about. Care is taken to get our flying done on a day-to-day basis apart from some inevitable circumstances. ”

• Rajesh Kulasekaran - Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India

  “ Future pilots, FANO is located in New Orleans, which has nice weather conditions for flying. FANO is the best place to train pilots with nice and frienly instructors, and well maintained aircrafts. Instructor/student ratio is very good so you can get individual attention. FANO provides nice accomodation facilities. The airport we are trained in is New Orleans Lakefront, which has moderate traffic and friendly air traffic controllers. I made a good decision when I decided to come to FANO ”

• Akil Gopinath - Chennai

  “ The process of flying in India is a long drawn out process and is prone to many breaks due to unavailability of spares. This tends to make a student loose touch with flying, especially in the initial stages. As far as airport facilities go, very few flying clubs in India come with properly equipped instruments such as VOR, ILS, and NDB which are essential to do your Instrument rating. On the other hand, in the US there are airports located at very short intervals and also very well equipped. In India there is an acute shortage of instructors whereas in the US there is an adequate number of qualified instructors. Last, but not the least, the condition of the aircrafts in the US is a lot better. I chose to do my flying here because the quality of flying is better and faster. ”

• Maniak Banerjie - Kolcatta

  “ For parents who are concerned about their kids getting the right amount of nourishment, you don’t have to worry because everything over here is taken care of. For lunch our Chief takes us to wherever we want to go for lunch in the FANO van. If the Chief isn’t available, then someone else takes care of us. For dinner our Chef, Rajesh, takes care of the meal. Most of the food he makes is delicious but a bit spicy. His food makes you feel like you are back in India! Some of us also take turns cooking food, so we get different taste of cooking. The supermarket is at walking distance from our apartments, so whenever we want something we just walk and get it. Plus whenever we go for monthly/weekly shopping, Chief takes us to the Indian store, Whole Foods, and Sam’s to make bulk purchases. In addition to all of this, we get to go to restuarants from time to time just to spice up the taste buds. So Aunties and Uncles if you are worried, don’t! We are nicely hooked up and enjoying a pretty healthy life. ”

• Jerome Thomas Martim - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

  “ I am Jerome Martin doing my Professional Pilot training program; my first experience was a very pleasant one. One of our instructor’s , Mr. Burt Lattimore, took me on my first flight. The whole experience of it is still afresh, taking the controls for the first time, a real memorable one! I feel the strongest point about FANO is how the whole foundation of flying being taught the best possible way by which I mean to say the scheduled was flight training is done here. ”

• Ketan S Dongre - Chennai, TN, India

  “ The most important aspect which I looked for while choosing a flight school was location. I was looking for schools in the southern parts of the US (Texas, Louisiana, Florida). I then narrowed down to the flight schools that would provide guidance regarding the course details, VISA, and so forth. I preferred schools which had a local agent anywhere here in India. I found myself quite lucky as the local agent for FANO was right here in Chennai…I found the presence of a local agent to be a promising advantage, and moreover, I got into the place which I had a preference for, FANO. ”

• Rohit - Toichy, TN, India

  “ Well, guys, about my Private Pilot Exam, I was totally excited! There was a written examination, oral, and check ride. The written exam was pretty easy while comparing to India DGCA. For the written examination we have a set of questions so as far as the written exam, guys, there is nothing to worry about! Next step was the oral examination and my check ride. I was totally freaked out because I didn’t know the examination would be with Sam. First session was the oral part. He started asking questions about regulations and flight instruments. After oral session, we went to check ride. He made me do maneuvers which we do in PPL training like slow flight, steep turns, etc. We came back and he told me I did well. ”

• Prabhu Parthasarathy - Chennai India

  “ I am Prabhu, 24 years old, from Chennai, at present a Private Pilot on the verge of completing my IR. Solo flight is the first flight done by a student on his own. We fly with a flight instructor when the trainer decides to allow us on our own. We taxi to the runway and commence a take off role, on being airborne is when it dawns on us the whole responsibility to land the aircraft and bring it back on ground. From then on follow the right approach pattern, the whole time remembering the most responsible way. On landing, the circuit is done twice again and on completing the last one taxi back to the ramp. After completion of all post flight functions starts the unusual celebrations. Instrument Rating is the next stage Commercial Pilots License where we get to learn more about aircraft instruments and fly the aircraft just by relying on instruments. In this stage, we learn more instrument approaches. Sometimes we get flying into actual instrument meteorological conditions. At this stage we have to study a lot and the training is quite tough! ”