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Type | Private |
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Industry | Pilot training courses and software |
Founded | 1974 |
Founders | John and Martha King |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Barry Knuttila, CEO |
Number of employees | 70 (May 2010) [1] |
Website | KingSchools.com |
King Schools, Inc. is an American computer software company headquartered in San Diego, California. The company focuses on the creation of Computer Based Training (CBT) or E-learning to assist individuals in obtaining all levels of Pilot certification in the United States. Over the years, the company has expanded its training courses to cover the various pilot certificates, ratings and educational requirements, along with many aeronautical elective studies. More recently, it has begun offering all of its courses in Web-based training (WBT) and mobile device formats.
King Schools was founded in 1974 by John and Martha King, husband and wife. As Certificated Flight Instructors, the Kings first began as a traveling ground school, offering two-day courses in various cities. A little more than a decade later, they began producing training videos that other flight instructors could incorporate into their own curriculum. Eventually, demand for their videos by individuals learning to fly led to the development of courses that could be used for self-paced study. [2]
As of May 2010, King Schools has over 70 employees and operates exclusively from an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) facility near Montgomery Field. [1] Course development, production, customer service and shipping all occur at this location. Course videos are filmed either in the in-house digital studio or at nearby Montgomery Field.
John and Martha King are two of the most recognized experts in flight instruction, [3] [4] [5] and King Schools is best known for its effective use of a folksy, humor-rich approach in their training videos. The company claims that more than half of all pilots in the United States have studied using one of their courses. Of the courses they offer, the Private Pilot Knowledge Test Course is likely the most used, supporting FAA Part 61 ground schools. Among the approximately 90 other courses offered, topics covered include Private Pilot, Instrument Pilot, Commercial Pilot, International Operations and risk management. King Schools also produces the Cessna-branded courses used by Cessna Pilot Centers, which are Part 141 ground schools. [6]
In 2008, John and Martha King were inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, and in 2019, they were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. [8]
In March 2001, Flying Magazine published an interview with John King titled "John King's Crusade to Change Aviation's Culture." [9] In the article, John openly charged the General Aviation industry with mischaracterizing that light aircraft could be considered safe. He argued that General Aviation pilots were insufficiently trained to recognize and address flight hazards. King Schools later joined efforts with Avemco Insurance to produce a training video to do this. [10] In 2003, this led to the first in a series of training videos marketed by King Schools as a "Practical Risk Management" course. [11]
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of flight controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training, the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities.
Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 was a scheduled flight of Pacific Southwest Airlines from Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego. On September 25, 1978, the Boeing 727-214 serving the flight, registration N533PS, collided with a private Cessna 172 light aircraft, registration N7711G, over San Diego, California. It was Pacific Southwest Airlines' first fatal accident, and it remains the deadliest air disaster in California history. At the time, it was the deadliest air crash in American history, and would remain so until American Airlines Flight 191 in May 1979.
Patty Wagstaff is an American aviator and U.S. national aerobatic champion.
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The Singapore Flying College is a CAAS approved flight school based in Singapore. Established in 1988 under the Singapore Airlines Group, it is the training school for cadet pilots with Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Singapore Airlines Cargo.
Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, formerly known as Montgomery Field and Gibbs Field, is a public airport in San Diego, California, United States, six miles (10 km) north of downtown San Diego. The airport covers 456 acres (185 ha) and has three runways, one public and two private helipads. The runways are 28 Right/10 Left-28 Left/10 Right parallels and 05/23.
The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences is a multidisciplinary college within the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The school was formed in 1968. The majority of the school's fleet of over 120 aircraft is based at nearby Grand Forks International Airport and is the largest fleet of civilian flight training aircraft in North America. UND Aerospace also operates a flight training center at Phoenix–Mesa Gateway Airport in Mesa, Arizona. Today, the school has many aerospace-related programs including commercial aviation, Unmanned aircraft systems operations, air traffic control, airport management, Space Studies, Computer Science, Atmospheric Sciences, and Earth System Science & Policy. Currently, the school has over 500 faculty and 2,000 students making it the second largest of UND's degree-granting colleges. The present dean of the school is Robert Kraus.
The Moncton Flight College (MFC) is a pilot training school based at the Greater Moncton International Airport (CYQM) in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. They have a second location at the Fredericton International Airport (YFC) in Lincoln, NB. In a year, MFC has the capacity to train 450 students between the Moncton and Fredericton Campus. Currently the Moncton Campus offers domestic and international programs with a 260-student capacity and a staff of 55. The Fredericton campus is primarily for Chinese student training with some modular based flight training and has a capacity of 190 students and employs 70 people. Both of the campuses have on-site kitchens and residences. MFC is the largest private flight school in Canada. It is also one of six, out of 150 schools in Canada, to be given integrated status. The college has trained over 20,000 pilots from approximately 70 countries since 1929. MFC has an approved FTU, ATO and AMO from Transport Canada and also has CAAC (China) approval.
Karnal Aerodrome is being operated as a pilot training institute owned and operated by Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation (HICA) under guidance of Civil Aviation Department, Government of Haryana. The flying school is spread over an area of 104 acres and is situated about 3 km east of Karnal in the state of Haryana, India.
Weston Airport, also called Dublin Weston Airport, is a publicly licensed general aviation (GA) airport serving Dublin and its environs since the early 1930s. It is located between Leixlip, County Kildare, and Lucan, Dublin 8 NM west of Dublin. Its traffic is primarily private and commercial flight training as well as business/executive travel. It is the leading general aviation airport in Ireland, and the only GA airport in the greater Dublin region, and is home to one of Ireland's two approved training organisations for ab-initio professional pilot training.
Sean Doherty Tucker is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career, was named one of the 25 "Living Legends of Flight" by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2003, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. He has led several efforts to assist youth in learning to fly or becoming involved in general aviation, and currently serves as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles program, a role he has held since 2013.
The Aviators Code Initiative (ACI), formerly the Aviators Model Code of Conduct, is a set of model recommended practices designed to improve general aviation safety and airmanship.
Single-pilot resource management (SRM) is defined as the art and science of managing all the resources available to a single-pilot to ensure that the successful outcome of the flight is never in doubt. SRM includes the concepts of Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM), Risk Management (RM), Task Management (TM), Automation Management (AM), Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) Awareness, and Situational Awareness (SA). SRM training helps the pilot maintain situational awareness by managing the automation and associated aircraft control and navigation tasks. This enables the pilot to accurately assess and manage risk and make accurate and timely decisions.
The Lebanese Air Force Aviation School is a military school and part of the Lebanese Air Force, established in 1960. The school aims to qualify air force pilots, and is located at Rayak Air Base; however it is controlled by the air force command in Beirut Air Base. The school currently employs Robinson Raven R44 II helicopters of the Fifteenth Squadron for these training purposes.
CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Brussels - Sabena Flight Academy is an aviation training organisation created in 1953, and located in Steenokkerzeel (Belgium). The school is now part of CAE Global Academy. The training is performed in Brussels, in Mesa at CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Phoenix . Sabena Flight Academy is one of the oldest airline transport pilot schools in Europe.
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