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Commercial Aviation
Aircraft Dispatcher
Aviation Business

Launch your career through
our College of Aviation

Whether your dream is to pilot an aircraft or help guide it through stormy skies, Academy College offers the career training for you. Our graduates secure exciting jobs such as: aircraft dispatcher, airline pilot, corporate pilot, air charter pilot, fire watch pilot, test pilot, fixed-base operations manager, airline manager, customer service representative, aircraft sales, aircraft insurance, airport security and airport management.

Flight Training is conducted at Thunderbird Aviation both FCM (Flying Cloud) & MIC (Crystal Airport) .  These two different airports provide students with additional experience in their flight training.  Our professional instructors provide all the flight training for the Private, Commercial, Instrument, Multi-engine, CFI and CFII.  A large percentage of our instructors are hired from our career college program and go on to fly for the airlines and corporate. For more about Thunderbird, which has been a fixture in the Twin Cities since 1962, go to www.thunderbirdaviation.com.

Our Fleet. Flight training is conducted in the Piper Warrior, Piper Archer, Piper Arrow, Piper Seminole and the Cessna 172.

Watch an Introductory Flight Lesson at Thunderbird Aviation.

Luke Hayes, an Academy College student, flies with his wife and his flight instructor, Fred Nauer, at Thunderbird Aviation.

It is hardly a secret that this is the best time in two decades to choose a career as a pilot. When the Federal Aviation Administration lowered the mandatory retirement age for pilots to 65, it pushed the Baby Boomer generation into retirement and opened up countless positions for the next generations.

There are many good reasons to choose Academy College for academic and flight training (Top 5 Reasons to Choose Academy College):

  • Over the next two decades, 87 new pilots will need to be trained and ready to fly a commercial airliner every day in order to meet our insatiable demand to travel by air. That’s one every 15 minutes.
  • Retirements at U.S. airlines have been rising for many years, with more anticipated beyond 2023 as the current crop of pilots turns 65, the mandated age of retirement. More than 42% of active U.S. airline pilots at the biggest carriers will retire over the next 10 years, about 22,000.
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Israel Persaud, a student at Academy College, by finishing his certified flight instructor instrument check ride has completed all the requirements for graduation from the Academy. Congratulations, Israel!

To experience the nostalgia of flying, check out Thunderbird Aviation’s Introductory Flights that allow you to fly the plane under close supervision for just $149!

Academy College partners with Thunderbird Aviation, the Twin Cities’ premier flight center. If you are interested in an introductory flight where the YOU will fly the plane under close supervision, or you would like to schedule a scenic flight and fly over Lake Minnetonka, call 951-941-1212.

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An invitation to explore!