Got the girls together for a mini road trip; Rochelle, Il here we come. Traffic wasn't too bad, but…read morethat one wrong turn added an extra twenty minutes. Good company and great weather for a jump, so no worries. Check in was a breeze; there were so MANY waivers to sign then a quick safety video to watch. Listen for your name to be called over the speakers then meet up in the hanger for rules and harness strapping. If you paid for the photo/video package, get ready for your interview. I signed up to jump 9,000 feet but was told that jump was for babies. 14,000 feet would feel like I really did something. Of course, I am giving a look like "this is my first time". But, I smiled and paid an extra 50$ to do a REAL jump. Up in the air we reviewed the training from the hanger. No time to be scared because everything happened so fast. The view is amazing; jumping through the clouds was priceless. I had an amazing coach; Nate. Ask for him. He's got jokes too. Afterwards, we were starving! They give you FREE beer or wine after your jump. It's a celebration, trust me, if you jump, you earned it. The food was amazing. Looking forward to my next jump.

This was truly one of the best experiences of my life! Stephen was very experienced and…read moreknowledgeable, I can't wait to come again!

We arrived here at about 9:45 am on a Saturday, and it was very active! Apparently a triathlon…read morehappened... but despite this, parking was not bad, and we were able to find a spot in the closest lot. The price was $21 for two adults and 3 year old (free) to mini golf. Only two other groups golfed during the time we were there. We spent more time than normal because most of the holes offered a challenge and my son wanted to get the best score and trick shots down the various ramps. This place is one of my new favorites! The course is clean and beautiful. Also Nice that the bathrooms are nearby and clean. We plan to come back and check out the playground.

Such a cool concept and layout at The Forge! This place is so conveniently located right by…read moreDowntown Lemont, home to places like Pollyanna Social (cocktail bar), Matt's Barbecue, and Wooden Paddle (pizza). I highly recommend purchasing tickets and reserving a time slot online, as this place can get packed! I ended up getting a $20 discount by buying my tickets on Groupon. There's zip lining, paddle boats, rock climbing, mini golf, axe throwing, archery, and so much more. The activities included in the Explorer Day Pass are definitely worth the money. This will be a business that I return to!

I was looking for that perfect birthday gift for a friend. You know the one, where everyone…read morewonders, "Why didn't I think of that?". So after considering all the options for this special guy (everything from sports memorabilia to electronics) I finally decided on a gift that would put his head in the clouds. That's right! Airplane rental! Now, of course, it helped that he is a licensed pilot so that part was taken care of. But I had to find an airport and someplace that would rent him a plane- and the kind of plane that he knows how to fly. Enter Illinois Aviation Academy. They are located out at the Du Page airport and rent about 6 different types of airplanes, from Arrow to Cesna, Piper to Diamond. Since an Arrow was what I was looking for, my search was over. And the even better news is that they have licensed instructors that will do the pre-flight approval. Prices are in line with other places with the Arrow going for $165 an hour (wet) with the pre flight coming in at around $65. It was also nice to see it was a new plane (2004). This is a well run place with the school located at one end of the hanger, and for the more experienced pilots, the lounge and preflight room are like being in a nice club somewhere. And the lucky part? My friend wanted to take me with him when he went flying and so we were off for a picnic lunch in another state soaring over the lakes and trees. And all I could do was marvel that you can rent a plane almost as simply as you can rent a car. Talk about a perfect day! Not for everyone- but if you are looking to rent a plane- give Illinois Aviation Academy a call. And your head can be in the clouds too!

I'm a pilot that got out of flying for a while and wanted to get back in. A friend of mine…read morerecommended Illinois Aviation. First impressions were fantastic. There is a lot of energy in the building. They have lots of people around, lots of flight instructors and lots of planes. From the front desk people to the instructors, all are super helpful and nice. This isn't your grandpa's flight school. I'm older but the place is filled with a big mix of people. Young, old, guys, gals. Everybody seems like they're trying to learn to fly. Which is a good thing today as it's all about experiences! The owner Bob is around often and more than willing to chat with you if you have questions. One Sunday I walked in a got a big hello from an instructor, not my instructor, but just a guy behind the desk. My lessons with Ben have gone very well. He is a great guy! Flying is the coolest thing you can do. They'll give you an introduction flight if you want to try it out. Call today and set up a time to have them take you up for an intro flight, you will be hooked.

The owners was very nice the first day before I signed up. After I signed up, it was like his…read moreattitude was on a light switch. He was incredibly rude and had no time to talk to me. I showed up on time for my first appointment and sat there for a half hour without interaction. When I got up and asked nicely what was taking so long, the lady behind the desk had a huge attitude problem. She was high up in the employee chain as well. The instructor they set me up with was 22 and just graduated from Lewis. I asked him how to move the rudders closer and he had to look it up on his iPhone. After my first lesson I was worried to go back. So I switched to api and was so grateful to find an experienced instructor. Jw aviation is going down hill. Do your self a favor and avoid them. Don't ruin your experience!

I would like to post to let everyone know about the Shady Business Practices of this JW AVIATION…read moreflight school. I have been researching flight schools in the Chicago land area for my CFI license. This is the only school that charges you for the full scheduled 2 hours of dual instructor time. The other 8 schools charges actual Hobbs time or add up to a minimal .3 , so if you fly for 1 hour, you are still paying for 2 hours instructor dual time. Over time this adds up. 50 hours of logged time will cost you an extra 25 hours of dual time at $60 per hour, that equals $1500 of time you paid for no dual instruction. Most of the students are college age with minimal income.. THIS IS SHADY and stealing out of their or their parents pockets...

Intro flight was great - will continue lessonsread more

My husband bought us a Groupon for instruction in a flight simulator, and we had a great…read moreexperience. Our instructor, Michael, could not have been better. He was calm, friendly, thoughtful, and definitely taught us a lot. Neither of us are pilots, so we felt a little intimidated coming in -- but were quickly put to ease with Michael. We bought the Groupon partially to overcome some fear of flying, as well as try something new. Both were accomplished! Would recommend this experience to anyone, and would love to go back in the future.

Wow! This was quite the event. It was my first time and I most certainly had a blast. I will be…read moreattending these events every year from here on out. The most important thing about it is that it isn't a race but more of a spiritual journey (to me at least). I was able to tap into my inner being and push into the unknown. There were so many motivating people there especially the person who hypes you up before starting the run. The obstacles were amazing and definitely hard. The run itself was challenging but worth all the sweat I produced LOL. Parking was super easy and not congested (luckily). Finding the place was a bit confusing as the address provided takes you to the other side of the airport so you will want to make sure you check the signs and get there a bit earlier for your race (maybe get there an hour early to ensure no hiccups in finding the place. You will get very very dirty hence the name of the event. You will be challenged and pushed to the edge but it is worth it. The other mudders are there to help fallen folks and folks that require help getting over obstacles - I felt like there was a huge sense of community throughout the whole thing. All in all, I had an amazing time and the end of the race was the electric obstacle. I got shocked right in my butt and it took me down so be careful in making your decision LOL. Enjoy the ride and go for it :)

The Park Ridge Park District puts on an excellent October Fest the last Saturday of every…read moreSeptember. It is located in Hodges Park which is right in front of City Hall. The fest is free to enter, but there are charges for food, beer and kids activities. A wrist band for all the bouncy castles and kids games is only $5. There is plenty of parking in the neighborhood behind the event or you can try by the library. There is live music at night and plenty of activities during the day. There are a ton great food vendors including Holts, Harp and Fiddle and a few other places that serve German fare. The giant pretzels with dipping sauce were a hit and the beer list was extensive. Prices were pretty reasonable for a festival and the lines to get food/drinks were not bad at all. You could use credit cards for beer, but everything else was cash only. This is a great way to celebrate the beginning of fall and hang out in the park.

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.