Skill is no longer the school that used to win awards 10 years ago. Time seems to have frozen for…read moreit around then along with its website that still features instructors who are long gone. You would be doing yourself a disservice by paying the premium rates it demands for instruction that is often mediocre at best, from junior instructors who seem to only be interested in getting to the 1500 hour mark. You can get very experienced, Gold Seal instructors who have been doing this for many years and are only interested in your development as a pilot, for much less. Focus is often primarily on flying and inadequate time spent on ground and reviews. Some programs lack a syllabus entirely, if you are one who looks for red flags. There is a very deep sense of apathy among its staff. The scheduling is often chaotic (timeslots not respected, or you may show up to the airport and they'll tell you that the aircraft is actually in maintenance or somewhere else) and staff behavior unprofessional. You may schedule a flight worth thousands, weeks in advance, to only find out a few days before the flight that someone changed the times or even cancelled it without even letting you know.

We booked an exploratory flight with Tayyab, we drove 30 minutes only to have this instructor pull…read morea no show. Extremely unprofessional.

Affordable. Well-run. Safe. Friendly. Hard to beat that combination…read moreIf you're looking for the best value in general aviation, this is it. Stick & Rudder delivers low hourly rates without cutting corners. The planes are well-maintained, clean, and clearly cared for -- not worn-out trainers. What really sets this place apart, though, is the people. The instructors and members genuinely want you to succeed. Whether you're a brand-new student pilot or building time, there's a culture of support here that you just don't find everywhere. Affordable. Well-run. Safe. Friendly. Hard to beat that combination.

Very good operation ! Safe and fun is included ! Lots of experience involved. Many years growing..read more

At 4pm, Friday, October 17, 2025 on the 103rd birthday of my grandfather Morris Swartz, flight…read moreinstructor Katy of K2 Aviation, LLC and I took off in the Cessna 150, N101FA from Campbell Airport in Grayslake, Illinois. A truly sentimental place as the airport is located right behind my grandparents' home. I am forever grateful to Katy and her husband Kurt for this most special of my lifetime events. There is no better flight instructor than Katy Crihfield. We thank Katy for her service as a Naval pilot. In addition to flight instruction, she is also a master teacher of physics. It was so great to also meet Katy's two dogs, Olivia and Fiona, as we are all animal lovers too! This marks the beginning of learning with K2 Aviation, LLC and to many more safe and wonderful flights! A special video presentation will be aired in the coming days. I hope you will all enjoy the flight! Thank you Katy and Kurt! ~ Kyle O'Malley

From the owner: K2 Aviation was founded in 2024 with the aim of providing quality flight instruction in small…read moresingle-engine aircraft. Students who learn stick-and-rudder flying in the smallest, simplest airplanes with just steam gauges can later advance to fly any aircraft in the world. We believe in starting with fundamental airmanship skills before working up to a glass cockpit, multi-engine, or jets should that be your goal.

I enjoyed my experience at Chicago O'Hare! There were many food options, everything was well kept,…read moreand they even had a cool light tunnel. Overall a really good experience!

Awesome people! I did my PPL here and this is a great place to learn how to fly. In my experience…read morehere all of the instructors have been nice and knowledgeable! Instructors, dispatch and everyone else has been amazing! (Especially Adam, Amy, and Natalie) I fully recommend Blue Skies!

WAir offers flight instruction in both G-1000 glass cockpit and more traditional C172 aircraft,…read moreboth of which are of recent vintage. It has a brand new Redbird full-motion simulator for instrument training. It has a full hangar right outside its offices, for maintancen and for not freezing your butt off in the winter months during pre-flight. And it has first-rate flight instruction and maintenance staffs, couches, offices for debriefings, and an app for scheduling. This is the place to train and maintain!!

So glad we found WAir. Our instructor Dave was very professional. My son had a great time and…read morelearned a lot. Thank you again WAir!

Dave is one of the best instructor in the country. He has such a calmness to his tone of voice and…read moreinstructions during the training. Without Dave, we wouldn't have gotten our licenses. We purchased LSA before the training and he didn't even hesitate to instruct us in a different aircraft. If anyone is planning to get their license near Chicago area, this place is a must. Also, if you just want to see / feel how flight instruction is like, then take their introductory flight and/or flight tour of down town Chicago! I would highly suggest to take their introductory flight during the holiday season! Simply fly is simply awesome!

Fantastic airplane and the introductory flight was amazing! Made me feel very welcome and got some…read moregreat information. I would highly recommend giving simply fly a chance. It's my top pick.

Had a fun, exciting private flight around Chicago for my fiancé's birthday. Mo was super friendly…read moreand accommodating and we felt very safe. Thanks Mo!

We (two passengers) went in a 6-seater plane ride over scenic downtown Chicago! We had a great…read moreexperience and felt very safe throughout the ride! Pilot was experienced and provided great information throughout. We would highly recommend, even for those who may be a little nervous/apprehensive beforehand.

Well maintained fleet of airplanes ! Marlon is a great teacher ! Easy to schedule and easy to work…read morewith !

This review is based on a single lesson only as I was visiting from out of town…read more On my journey to get my PPL, I was in Chicago for a work trip and reached out to Boraam Aviation and took a lesson with Marlon, their Chief Flight Instructor. He was thorough in looking through my log book to see what gaps I had in my knowledge toward my license and we decided on a plan to do some instrument practice (along with unusual attitudes). Marlon was very up front and methodical in our lesson. He was very comfortable to fly with and had some great suggestions on maintaining airspeed, heading, steady climbs and descents in IMC. He also gave me some fantastic training in unusual attitudes and gave me a suggestion to focus on the airspeed indicator more so than the attitude indicator in order to determine the best way to recover from unusual attitudes. This was very helpful and I'm glad we went through this in our training. After our lesson, I felt a lot more confident in different maneuvers for the check ride and flying in simulated instrument conditions. This flight school's rental rates are quite a bit lower than any of the surrounding competition (including the flying club at Chicago Executive) and I'm quite sure they have the best prices for aircraft rental. Huge plus. I would highly suggest it! My only gripe and the reason for the 4-star review is that I would have appreciated a little more time in debriefing after the lesson and Marlon really asking questions to re-enforce that I understood what I learned. I had a little confusion with navigating VOR-from ATC commands and although he spent a bit of time explaining it, I would have appreciated him asking more questions to test my knowledge and ensure that I understood everything. The end of the lesson felt a little rushed as I didn't know when his appointment with his next student was (and she was waiting for him while we were debriefing). Other than that, everything was perfect and I would wholeheartedly recommend Boraam Aviation to anyone seeking various flying ratings.

Below average in cheer and tumble instruction. Very unorganized classes with little to no coaching…read more Too many parents talking about kids negatively in waiting room during practices and tournaments. A lot of cliques when it comes to girls/boys AND parents. Not a very family-like feel. Little communication when class times rescheduled or canceled. Much better going to ICE or Twisters.