Specialty Flight Training, Inc. - Boulder, Colorado

André L.

I have no experience flying with this school, but I did receive ground school instruction from the owner Lonnie through a CU Boulder class. Lonnie provided the CU flying club with a really great deal on ground instruction, which lasted a couple of months and was very useful to me while I was already taking flying lessons. We covered the majority of the theoretical material necessary for a PPL, and got access to the Cessna Flight Training through the King Schools. It was great having the opportunity to clear my questions, and Lonnie provided a space for that with a warm welcome. A great deal for sure.

Jeff V.

My experience with Specialty Flight has always been great and Lonnie is an exceptional flight instructor. He’s knowledgeable, always puts safety first, friendly, funny, kind and presents the material in an easy to understand manner - same for the rest of his staff. I enrolled in the ground school offered by Specialty through the CU Boulder flying club. The classroom approach was much more economical than one-on-one ground school training. I finished the course, took the written exam and passed. I can’t recommend these guys enough. Overwhelmingly positive.

Kent B.

Had my part 107 certification test today at Specialty Flight Training. Lonnie gave a great explanation of the systems and went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable during the test. I forgot my hat and didn't even make it a mile down the road before Lonnie called. It's the little things that made this a great experience.

I know where I will be going in two years to renew my certification. Thank you again Lonnie!

Austin H.

Over the years my experience with Specialty Flight Training, and Lonnie in particular, has been consistently positive. Good people – they have always been willing to help. As an instructor, Lonnie is extremely knowledgeable. And while I appreciate his sense of humor, I also appreciate that he teaches the “why” as well as the “how”, and the why is almost always tied to safety. There is a personality element to finding the right instructor. Getting to know Lonnie is worth the time.

Michael T.

*Update* after company response: upon our first meeting, yes the vaccination requirement was discussed, the booster portion was not. Additionally, you did give me a printed rate sheet to take home to review, you did not provide your policy in print. This is where my rating stems from. That policy should have been distributed on initial contact and we both instantly would have know the second meeting was not necessary.
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Cold called them looking for training a few weeks ago. Got a tour of the facility and booked a meeting with the crew to interview the CFIs and get a feel for the club .

Fast forward to the day of the meeting....Work overloaded me and I was going to be late, called Lonnie and told him I'm late, offered to reschedule, and apologized. Said I could be out the door and there in 45mins, he agreed to rearrange his schedule and wait for me. I was appreciative of this.

Once I arrived, I sat down to talk with Lonnie and the other two gentlemen didn't say a word. Lonnie gave me a 5 minute pitch, then presented me with his "entry exam" or covid policy. Unfortunately, I don't qualify.

I write this with no ill intent on Lonnies policy. It's his business and his rules. I support that.

However, never once in my previous interactions with him was I presented this go/no go criteria.

At the end of the day, I pulled myself out of a mountain of work to make the meeting, was admittedly late, drove 45 min one way only to be met with a policy disqualifying me within seconds of being on premises.

Your right to this policy is just, but you should present this compliancy requirement upon initial contact. We both wasted time on this and it could have easily been avoided with a little offense in your sales process.

Lee H.

My husband is a very accomplished GA pilot and I am historically a very nervous passenger. I met with Lonnie once every two weeks for over a year while he patiently taught me how airplanes work, how to take the controls at altitude, how to take off, and even how to land the airplane in case of an emergency He was incredibly kind as well as being a wonderful instructor during that process, and the cost of that training was much more affordable than I had anticipated. I have to admit that I still have no desire to obtain my pilots licence, but now I am much more comfortable in the air with my husband and have a new confidence that I would not have found without Lonnie's help. Specialty Flight training is a top notch operation and Lonnie is a top notch instructor.

Rfozzard

Some of the instructors are very skilled, some very wet behind the ears. There is a lot of turnover at this place, so be careful who you get. The equipment and hanger are top-notch.
Unfortunately, as many others on here have noted, the owner Lonnie is very prickly and even outright dishonest financially. My daughter had two years of instruction, and needed to take a break for Finals her senior year of high school. I notified Lonnie to cancel the monthly payments for their "club". He failed to do this, and when I called back two months later to ask for the charges to be refunded, he not only refused, but insulted me over the phone with language you wouldn't want your mother to hear. Any respectable business owner would have immediately refunded the charges.
This experience soured my daughter on flying and the sport has lost a young woman because of it. When my son wanted to learn, we of course went with another company, and he went on to get his private license at 17 and loves the sport.
Avoid this company -- unless it is sold to a new owner.

Paul H.

I have been a tie-down and flight instruction customer of Specialty Flight Training for over a decade. I am very impressed with Loni's extensive knowledge of all matters aviation, the quality of his instructors and his generous and helpful attitude every time I've needed help. Just so you know, I own a Mooney 201, have over 1600 hours flight time VFR and IFR, have been a pilot for 44 years, and have flown all over the USA from coast to coast and north to south.