Come Fly With Us
Whether it's becoming a private or professional commercial pilot or flying for your first time, Wings Academy
can help you reach for the sky.
Learning to fly is fun and challenging. It will change your life forever!
Sadly, we are not
accepting new students or offering
discovery flights at this time.
Please check back Spring of 2025.
Flight Instruction
Ready to learn how to fly? In 6-12 months you could earn your pilot certificate and open your world to endless possibilities for fun and travel. Flight training is safe, fun and exciting. There is no minimum age to take flight lessons, however you must be at least 17 years of age to become a licensed pilot.
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We offer professional flight training at a reasonable price. There is no need to pay a huge amount up front as you are allowed to pay as you progress through the training. Click the button below for more information.
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Our program is a Part-61 flight school (not Part-141). If you are looking for the fastest pathway to becoming an airline pilot and utilize financial aid for training, this is not the flight school for you. There are many Part-141 flight schools in Oregon, but none which operate out of Salem Airport.
Aircraft
Our training aircraft is a Piper Tomahawk (PA-38-112). The Tomahawk was designed and built by Piper to be a training aircraft.
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The Tomahawk is a two-seat, low-wing airplane with a 112 horsepower Lycoming four-cylinder engine. With a cruise speed of 90 knots it will fly for over four hours with full fuel.
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The Tomahawk is fully certified to perform all private pilot and commercial pilot maneuvers including spin training.
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Because the training aircraft is a two-seater trainer, it has limited weight & balance allowances. Student pilots, including clothing, must weigh no more than 220 lbs. This limitation is strictly adhered to and there are no exceptions.
Location
Our flight school is located at the Salem Airport (also known as McNary Field or SLE). Salem Airport offers a unique and wonderful environment for learning how to fly. Being a towered-airport, there is increased safety as the tower is always helping pilots keep an eye on traffic and procedures.
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The towered-airport also gives students a leg-up and confidence with radio communication skills. Our tower is friendly!
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Salem is situated in the heart of the Willamette Valley with many other nearby airports which are used during flight training. You will also have an opportunity to fly to the coast or fly to Central Oregon during your regular lessons.
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More about Wings Academy
Flight training, like most other things in life, is not "one size fits all." We will discuss, early on, what your specific aviation goals are and how best to accomplish them safely and efficiently. Dreaming of becoming an airline pilot? Just want to expand your horizons and fly to fun destinations? Thinking of owning your own small airplane to use for business and pleasure? Although we use a well-organized curriculum, we can customize your training to fit your personal needs and even use your own airplane for training if you have one (or purchase one after lessons begin).
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New students receive a comprehensive set of lesson plans to keep track of their progress, outline what homework is expected before each lesson, and provide a concise roadmap of what is coming next. They also receive a new student binder containing important information and tools used along the journey to becoming a pilot.
Training can take place morning, afternoon, evening and weekends when our schedules allow. Although some flights will need to be done at night (the rules require a certain amount of night training), most flights will be conducted during daytime in good weather.​
