There are multiple important factors to consider when you are researching flight schools before making a final decision on where to pursue your flight training. A few of these factors are obvious in their importance such as the school’s safety record, excellent instructors and staff, aircraft types and availability, and job opportunities. However, there is one factor that is extremely important and it may surprise you how much it can alter the success of your flight training experience. Ready for this? It’s your flight training location. It boils down to three main points, all of which you should consider when you are selecting the location of your flight school:

WEATHER

Why fly in stifling heat or the bitter cold – or miss out on your scheduled flight because of hurricane weather or torrential rain – when you can fly in sunshine year-round? Central Oregon is famous for its sunshine. We’re not joking! Bend is the sunniest place in the Pacific Northwest, but without any of the humidity or overly hot days of other sunny regions across the country, so you can forget about those thermometer-shattering summer days. Paired with occasional snow falls throughout the winter and the rare day of rain, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to fly in different weather patterns for an excellent level of preparedness in your flying.

LOCAL TERRAIN

As a student, you want access to a variety of terrain during training so you can be prepared for anything when you enter the workforce. If you’ve spent two years training over the flat land and coastline of Florida, how prepared will you be to anticipate the challenges of flying in mountainous regions? Training in Central Oregon affords you a multitude of opportunities to experience expansive desert, snow peaked and rugged mountains, canyons with winding rivers, farm land, and more. All of this is within the middle of Oregon state. Not only is it ideal for training experience and preparing for a successful career in aviation, it’s also extremely easy on the eyes. Just search “Cascade Mountain Range,” and you’ll know exactly what we mean.

REGIONAL TERRAIN

Arizona has desert. Florida has coastline. Oregon? We have it all. Mountain ranges, forests, coastline, desert, canyons… We could go on, but we think you get the idea. The real kicker is that all of this is within close flying distance of Bend, so you can train in a vast array of terrain without having an overly complicated flight plan or crossing state lines. Also within range is the major city of Portland, with an international airport and busy skies so you can practice your radio calls with confidence (and pick up some world famous Voodoo Doughnuts while you’re at it). As you can see, your flight training location has a lot to do with your future success. Don’t invest your time or your money in training that doesn’t fully prepare you for the wide range of career opportunities in the aviation industry. But don’t just take our word for it; call us to schedule a time to visit our facility and get to know the beautiful town of Bend, Oregon. We’re certain that after you taste some of our local craft brews during a brewery hop, experience some fresh powder on the slopes of Mount Bachelor, or reach top speeds while mountain biking one of our hundreds of trails… you’ll be convinced. Curious about what it takes to relocate to Bend? We offer help to relocating students!