About us
Founder
Rhys Lamberton
Founder and CEO, Flight Training Connection
Aviation runs in my family. One of my earliest memories is sitting in the right seat of a Piper PA-23, G-BICY, at Sibson Aerodrome in the UK, watching my dad taxi the light twin to the fuel pumps.
Fast forward to 17, and I was taking the controls of a Cessna 172 myself out of Long Beach, California. On my first solo, I looked out of the window while flying the traffic pattern and saw my instructor in a heated debate with airport police, who wanted to know why a member of the public was standing on the CFI pad watching a student fly. That instructor, of course, was my dad.
From there I went straight into the Part 141 world. I started in fleet management, negotiating aircraft leases, purchases, maintenance and logistics, and my first big win was growing the fleet of a niche flight school at Long Beach (KLGB) from 3 aircraft to 15. I then worked my way up through operations management, growth and development, sales and audits, to executive roles as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer. If there is a job inside a flight school, I have most likely done it.
Throughout my time in flight training I have seen the same problems again and again. There is very little advice or nurturing for students when they start out. Too many schools treat their students as a number on a spreadsheet and brush off their concerns because the school knows best. 99% of the time, simply explaining why things are done a certain way solves a student's problem very quickly. Flight schools are heavily regulated, and none of it is guesswork.
At some large schools, small disagreements snowball into huge ones: students not flying enough, incorrect billing, a lack of transparency over scheduling, checkrides that aren't available. It's the same old story wherever you look.
What's needed is someone in the middle: someone who knows what it's like to be a student, and who equally knows what it takes to run that flight school. That is why I created Flight Training Connection. Full transparency from day one, what to expect, why each step is taken and, most importantly, vetted partner schools that do things properly.
We recommend what fits you, even when that means waiting or choosing a different route.
We are open about how we are paid: schools pay us, students never do.
One point of contact from your first question until you are training.
Flight Training Connection LLC
Registered in Delaware, USA
8 The Green, Dover, DE 19901
Email: [email protected]
We reply within one working day