Student Success Stories
I am currently flying the Boeing 777 for Cathay Pacific Airways as Senior First Officer. My experience at Riverside Flight Center was always very professional. They went to great lengths in helping me convert to the UK license and I also made some great friends who I still keep in touch with nearly 10 years later! I think I finished at riverside in 2010 and joined Cathay Pacific in 2011!
Scott Barrett
Senior First Officer, Cathay Pacific Airlines
RFC is the place to be! Through my 8+ years at the school, from 14 year old student pilot to 22 year old CFI working for them, I have witnessed the school go through changes, grow, and push through hard times with determination. The smooth operation of the school would not be possible without the hard work from the instructors, assistant chiefs, chiefs, and administration. Pilot training is difficult. As it should be! I wanted to point this out because a common complaint among reviewers of flight schools is that the school is too hard, or the standards are too
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RFC is the place to be! Through my 8+ years at the school, from 14 year old student pilot to 22 year old CFI working for them, I have witnessed the school go through changes, grow, and push through hard times with determination. The smooth operation of the school would not be possible without the hard work from the instructors, assistant chiefs, chiefs, and administration.
Pilot training is difficult. As it should be! I wanted to point this out because a common complaint among reviewers of flight schools is that the school is too hard, or the standards are too high. In my position now, a First Officer at a large regional airline flying the Embraer 175, I can say that RFC adequately prepared me to attend airline training after getting my certificates, and teaching at the school for 2 years. Your training does not stop when you are a certified commercial pilot, it is only the beginning.
Another very common complaint among all flight school’s reviews is that they say, “I finished with more hours than advertised because they wanted more money out of me”. I can say with utmost certainty that the RFC does NOT milk students for hours. Coming from someone that was on the inside of operations, we had standards and timelines built for our students that ensured that they got through the program in the most economical, most safe, and least amount of time. If they finished with excess hours it was THEIR doing by not meeting the standards of airmanship that is set by the FAA.
I learned so much from my time instructing. How to communicate effectively, how to motivate, how to use teamwork and cooperation to achieve a common goal, how to make important and timely decisions with a high regard for safety, and so much more! I am so proud of all I have done, and the chance to share my love of flying with everyone I have worked with has been amazing.
I am a proud graduate of the school, and instructor thereafter. If you are looking for a flight school that will keep you safe, and challenge you to become the best pilot you can be, look no further!
Pilot training is difficult. As it should be! I wanted to point this out because a common complaint among reviewers of flight schools is that the school is too hard, or the standards are too high. In my position now, a First Officer at a large regional airline flying the Embraer 175, I can say that RFC adequately prepared me to attend airline training after getting my certificates, and teaching at the school for 2 years. Your training does not stop when you are a certified commercial pilot, it is only the beginning.
Another very common complaint among all flight school’s reviews is that they say, “I finished with more hours than advertised because they wanted more money out of me”. I can say with utmost certainty that the RFC does NOT milk students for hours. Coming from someone that was on the inside of operations, we had standards and timelines built for our students that ensured that they got through the program in the most economical, most safe, and least amount of time. If they finished with excess hours it was THEIR doing by not meeting the standards of airmanship that is set by the FAA.
I learned so much from my time instructing. How to communicate effectively, how to motivate, how to use teamwork and cooperation to achieve a common goal, how to make important and timely decisions with a high regard for safety, and so much more! I am so proud of all I have done, and the chance to share my love of flying with everyone I have worked with has been amazing.
I am a proud graduate of the school, and instructor thereafter. If you are looking for a flight school that will keep you safe, and challenge you to become the best pilot you can be, look no further!
Chase Shipman
Skywest Airlines
It gives me an immense pleasure in telling you that I have joined Qatar Airways as a Second Officer on the A330. Only because getting trained at RFC this dream has come true. All the instructors have really helped me in achieving my goal. I am really thankful to each one there.
Pallavi Tyagi
Second Officer, Qatar Airways
Riverside Flight Center gave me a strong foundation for my flight training more than many flight schools would ever do. They took care of my learning, cared about my progress and support me in every step of my aviation career, ever since my very first ground school all the way up to getting accepted in an airline. Couldn’t be more grateful to Yuri, Landon and all the instructors for teaching me, and giving me such a high quality training with very high standards that definitely helped me to achieve my goal of being an airline pilot.
Yeymy M.
Airline Pilot
Matt learned to fly from two different schools before finding Riverside Flight Center. His opinion was that, “Sure, the other schools had airplanes and textbooks, but none of them focused on what was important to me…quality, accelerated training. RFC was a place where I felt the school sincerely cared about my progress and career goals.” Matt received his commercial pilot certificate at RFC in 2009 and is currently an airline pilot in the United States. His greatest passions in life are his faith, his wife and children, and aviation. When he’s not flying you can probably find him on a
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Matt learned to fly from two different schools before finding Riverside Flight Center. His opinion was that, “Sure, the other schools had airplanes and textbooks, but none of them focused on what was important to me…quality, accelerated training. RFC was a place where I felt the school sincerely cared about my progress and career goals.”
Matt received his commercial pilot certificate at RFC in 2009 and is currently an airline pilot in the United States. His greatest passions in life are his faith, his wife and children, and aviation. When he’s not flying you can probably find him on a local mountain bike trail.
Matt received his commercial pilot certificate at RFC in 2009 and is currently an airline pilot in the United States. His greatest passions in life are his faith, his wife and children, and aviation. When he’s not flying you can probably find him on a local mountain bike trail.
Matt T.
Airline Pilot - US
Gosh, I can’t say enough good things about Riverside Flight Center! I am so extremely grateful to them… They helped me out so much! They were very efficient in the time that it took me to go from 0 to 250 hours with a multi engine instrument rating. Their instruction was very thorough and efficient! After spending a year and a half time building, I am now a captain on medevac King Air. I am reminded daily of the lessons that I went through while at Riverside Flight Center! I am so extremely grateful at how thorough they were, in
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Gosh, I can’t say enough good things about Riverside Flight Center! I am so extremely grateful to them… They helped me out so much! They were very efficient in the time that it took me to go from 0 to 250 hours with a multi engine instrument rating. Their instruction was very thorough and efficient! After spending a year and a half time building, I am now a captain on medevac King Air. I am reminded daily of the lessons that I went through while at Riverside Flight Center! I am so extremely grateful at how thorough they were, in not only teaching me how to be a pilot, but also preparing me for the challenges that come with taking on an exciting career as a professional pilot. Every single one of my instructors was very professional, courteous, and knowledgeable. I started flying only three years ago, and now I am making a living doing what I love!
I feel so extremely blessed that I found this wonderful flight school. I know there are many choices in flight schools, not only is their training program incredible, but so many of my fellow pilots finished their flight programs with tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt… With Riverside Flight Center‘s program, it was very economical and I was able to finish my ratings and licenses at a fraction of the cost of many of my coworkers who are still trying to pay off loans.
Thank you everybody! You guys are a great team, and I am very grateful for all of the help and encouragement that you gave me and continued support.
I feel so extremely blessed that I found this wonderful flight school. I know there are many choices in flight schools, not only is their training program incredible, but so many of my fellow pilots finished their flight programs with tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt… With Riverside Flight Center‘s program, it was very economical and I was able to finish my ratings and licenses at a fraction of the cost of many of my coworkers who are still trying to pay off loans.
Thank you everybody! You guys are a great team, and I am very grateful for all of the help and encouragement that you gave me and continued support.
Kyle Evanko
Medivac - KingAir
Riverside Flight Center provided what few other flight training schools could, they helped me finish my training to very high standards in the shortest possible time. It is the only school that I have come across where the owner takes such a personal interest in every student pilot and their development, ensuring excellent training and giving their candidates the best possible chance of going on to get a job in the competitive world of aviation. I was so impressed with RFC that I went back to instruct there and from within I was able to get a better understanding of
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Riverside Flight Center provided what few other flight training schools could, they helped me finish my training to very high standards in the shortest possible time. It is the only school that I have come across where the owner takes such a personal interest in every student pilot and their development, ensuring excellent training and giving their candidates the best possible chance of going on to get a job in the competitive world of aviation. I was so impressed with RFC that I went back to instruct there and from within I was able to get a better understanding of the outstanding facilities and training that pilot candidates are able to benefit from here.
I went on to get my first job with a European airline flying as a First Officer on the Boeing 737 and within two years of joining my airline I was upgraded to Captain. The training and knowledge that I received at RFC without doubt helped me to both get my first flight deck position as well as my early opportunity of being upgraded to Captain.
My time at RFC allowed me to make lifelong friends as well as contacts in the industry, has left me with unforgettable and great memories, helped me to become a highly-trained, competent, confident and professional pilot and very importantly gave me the best chance of chasing my dream of becoming an airline pilot. Make the wise choice the first time around, choose the school and people you can trust in every regard, come to Riverside Flight Center.”
I went on to get my first job with a European airline flying as a First Officer on the Boeing 737 and within two years of joining my airline I was upgraded to Captain. The training and knowledge that I received at RFC without doubt helped me to both get my first flight deck position as well as my early opportunity of being upgraded to Captain.
My time at RFC allowed me to make lifelong friends as well as contacts in the industry, has left me with unforgettable and great memories, helped me to become a highly-trained, competent, confident and professional pilot and very importantly gave me the best chance of chasing my dream of becoming an airline pilot. Make the wise choice the first time around, choose the school and people you can trust in every regard, come to Riverside Flight Center.”
Nick B.
737 Captain
I am a First Officer at Aeromexico Airlines, currently flying the Embraer 170/190. Riverside Flight Center gave me the opportunity to learn with the highest standards and be prepared with the basis of what was needed to start my professional life as an airline pilot. Just the best training I could ever had experienced.
Migual Farias
First Officer at Aeromexico Airlines