An East Bay flight school has spread its wings above Stockton, allowing students to learn how to fly locally.
Flight Dogs, an organization teaching students to become pilots, opened up a new flight school at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport, according to Jen Zeirau, office manager of Flight Dogs.
“I was trying to find something where we can kind of start as a clean slate and kind of go forward with a higher standard of training,” Zeirau said.
The school started in Hayward over six years ago. The Stockton campus Flight Dogs fleet includes two Cessna 172’s, a primarily student-piloted aircraft for training purposes.
The whole fleet includes two advanced aircraft called DA-40’s and one DA-62 aircraft, the latter Zierau says is one of only two in the United States, worth about $2.4 million.
Out of the 22 certified flight instructors (CFI), six of them are already certified to train newcomers and more are expected to join them.
“We are getting more of them badged over at the Stockton airport so that way they have more flexibility and we have more instructors on the ground as well,” said Zeirau.
While piloting programs are not traditionally cheap, the price is still cheaper in the valley compared to the Bay Area, according to senior certified flight instructor Spencer Faraday.
“We’re able to offer a more competitive pricing because of our location,” said Faraday. “But we’re not skimping on maintenance and we’re not skimping on instructor quality, making the cost comparison similar to a four-year college education, as a learned trade.”
The Stockton Metropolitan Airport airspace is less crowded as its Bay Area counterparts, which is a key advantage for the program.
“The main benefit of being out in Stockton is it’s not as busy of an airport, like the airspace is not as congested,” said Faraday. “When you fly here, there’s a little bit more time to learn.”
He also estimated CFI’s can make around $70,000 to $125,000 per year based on how much they work, and up to $250k a year as a commercial airline pilot with seniority.
Faraday said that Flight Dogs prides itself on providing CFI’s that care about more than just logging their own airtime.
“Lots of flight schools just employ, you know, whoever wants to CFI, they may not be there to really benefit the student. They’re there just to get their hours,” said Faraday.
“I think it’s a rewarding career and I think for me, the benefit of this industry is that every day is different and that you have this amazing office view (from the aircraft) right,?” said Faraday.
If someone is unsure about flying, Flight Dogs offers a “discovery flight,” where prospective students may bring a friend to fly beside the pilot in a controlled environment.
The starting aircraft comes equipped with a yoke on both sides where the instructor may take over, similar to having two brakes on a driving test.
“You can do that with a friend, a partner, you can do it for a birthday or an anniversary. It’s just kind of like a lifelong memory that you’ll never lose, Zierau said.
“But that could be an experience to kind of get your foot in the door and see if it’s something that you wanna work towards.”
Students usually take 6 months to a year to earn their private pilots license training 2-3 times a week in the air. Those who spend more time training may progress faster through the program.
Flight Dogs aims to provide a comfortable environment, going at the speed of customers and having fun.
“You’re gonna spend your money on (training). Like, you better have fun doing it, right?” said Faraday.
With Flight Dogs entering the central valley, residents wishing to become a pilot no longer have to travel out of their hometown.
“You can take that license and go anywhere and have the flexibility to rent a plane with your family, wife , husband, whatever it may be and have that freedom to fly anywhere,” said Zierau.
You can visit the Flight Dogs website or call 510-214-3240 to learn more.