Before you begin your checkout or introduction flight, you must provide your original proof of identification and citizenship. We will not accept photocopies or photos of these documents. Please bring them with you if you are traveling to us.

- FAA Pilot Certificate
- Current Medical Certificate
- Government-issued photo ID (driver's license or passport may count as ID)
- Passport/Birth Certficate (proof of citizenship)

You may not be allowed to fly without the pilot and identification documents above. You MUST bring a Passport or Birth Certificate BEFORE you will be allowed to fly!

In addition, the following may be useful or necessary if you are coming to do a rental checkout. Air America does not sell pilot supplies.
- Current Charts (if instrument rated please bring approach plates as well)
- View limiting device (may be rented subject to availability)
- Checklist for the make and model to be flown (can be found under Resources section of this website)

Before you begin your checkout or introduction flight, you must provide your original proof of identification and citizenship. We will not accept photocopies or photos of these documents. Please bring them with you if you are traveling to us.

***Note: Air America does not issue Visas or I-20's!!!***

- FAA Pilot Certificate (foreign pilots check here first) + foreign pilot certificate/license if applicable
- Verification Letter from FAA (if converting foreign license)
- Current Medical Certificate
- Government-issued photo ID (driver's license or passport may count as ID)
- Passport
- Visa/Permanent Resident (international students check here first!!!)
- Form I-20 (international students)
- AFSP Training Request Emails (international students)

***Note: Air America does not issue Visas or I-20's!!!***

You may not be allowed to fly without the pilot and identification documents above. You MUST bring a Passport BEFORE you will be allowed to fly!

In order to partake in a discovery flight you will need a government issued ID (driver's license) as well as proof of citizenship via a birth certificate or valid passport.

The Chief Flight Instructor, the Assistant Chief Flight Instructor, and the Designated Flight Instructors represent the most experienced flight instructors at Air America Flight Center. They are the only flight instructors that are authorized to conduct flight instructor or aircraft rental checkouts. To be a Designated Flight Instructor you must be at least a 2-year flight instructor, a CFI, CFII and MEI, and you must be appointed by the Chief Flight Instructor. Here is the current list of the Chief, Assistant Chief, and Designated Flight Instructors:

Chief Flight Instructor - Sean Freeman (908-358-9913 or AirAmericaFC@AirAmericaFC.com)
Assistant Chief Flight Instructor - Andrew Vipond (386-852-6368 or andrew.vipond@gmail.com)
Assistant Chief Flight Instructor - John Palfrey (386-451-5760 or jpalfrey98@gmail.com)
Designated Flight Instructor #1 - Griffin Leighton   
Designated Flight Instructor #2 - Greg Harris

Air America requires a separate checkout for the complex, high-performance, glass cockpit and multi-engine airplanes, however you can combine certain fixed-gear checkouts. For example:

If your initial checkout is in a 172SP G1000 you can rent the 172SP G1000, 172SP
If your initial checkout is in a 182T G1000 you can rent the 182T G1000, 172SP G1000, 172SP
If your initial checkout is in a Piper Arrow you can only rent the Piper Arrow
If your initial checkout is in a BE-76 you can only rent the BE-76.

Any student that completes their CFI, CFII, or MEI training at Air America Flight Center is allowed to instruct at Air America without having to complete a flight instructor checkout. However, you may have to complete a separate checkout if you want to instruct in a model of aircraft that is different from what you used in your training. Please refer to the question above to determine if a separate checkout is required.

Air America Flight Center is a Part 61 flight school. This simply means that we teach to exceed the minimum FAA Practical Test Standards and that we do not have an FAA approved curriculum that we enforce. There are several advantages to being flight instructor at a Part 61 flight school. For starters, the check process is much simpler. Second, in a Part 61 school you can change your teaching style to meet the individual needs of your students unlike in a Part 141 school where you have to follow a set curriculum. This is especially helpful when you give instruction to a student who has already began their training elsewhere but never finished. In a Part 141 school you would have to start their training over but in a Part 61 school you can review or re-teach their previous instruction and give them 100% credit of all of their prior flight hours assuming the hours are not too old. As a flight instructor at Air America you have the freedom to use any lesson plans or teaching materials that you are comfortable with.

Yes, please see the front desk for instructions on this matter. No instruction can take place prior to proof of coverage.

The Chief Flight Instructor, the Assistant Chief Flight Instructor, and the Designated Flight Instructors represent the most experienced flight instructors at Air America Flight Center. They are the only flight instructors that are authorized to conduct flight instructor or aircraft rental checkouts. To be a Designated Flight Instructor you must be at least a 2-year flight instructor, a CFI, CFII and MEI, and you must be appointed by the Chief Flight Instructor. Here is the current list of the Chief, Assistant Chief, and Designated Flight Instructors, for more about them please visit the staff page:

Chief Flight Instructor - Sean Freeman (908-358-9913 or airamericafc@airamericafc.com)
Assistant Chief Flight Instructor - Andrew Vipond (386-852-6368 or andrew.vipond@gmail.com)
Assistant Chief Flight Instructor - Chris Rutledge (386)405-5670
Please contact the desk for a current list of the remaining designated instructors.

Air America requires a separate checkout for the complex, high-performance, glass cockpit and multi-engine airplanes, however you can combine certain fixed-gear checkouts. For example:

If your initial checkout is in a 172SP G1000 you can rent the 172SP G1000, 172SP
If your initial checkout is in a 182T G1000 you can rent the 182T G1000, 172SP G1000, 172SP
If your initial checkout is in a Piper Arrow you can only rent the Piper Arrow
If your initial checkout is in a BE-76 you can only rent the BE-76.

Any student that completes their flight training and passes a checkride at Air America Flight Center is allowed to rent without having to complete a rental checkout. However, you may have to complete a separate checkout if you want to rent a model of aircraft that is different from what you used in your training. Please refer to the question above to determine if a separate checkout is required.

Our office hours are 8:00 am - 7:00 pm during Daylight Savings (Winter) and 7:00 am - 8:30 pm during Standard Time (Summer). Although our office closes at night, our renters have 24-hour access to our fleet. For more information on our "After-Hours Flying Policy", please click here.

AAFC policy states that you must fly for a minimum of 4 hours for every 24 hours that you have the airplane. For example, if you rent the airplane for a week you will be billed a minimum of 28 hours regardless of how many hours you flew. In the case of multi-day rentals, you will be asked to prepay the estimated/minimum rental time prior to being dispatched. During times when our schedule is slow (such as the holidays or in the middle of summer), we may be able to waive this minimum. Please understand that a one-time waiver of the policy is not to be misconstrued as a guaranteed waiver for future requests.

Unlike most rental facilities, Air America Flight Center allows our renters to go on real cross countries. Depending on the distance of the trip we may request to go over your flight planning and discuss possible situations that may occur such as off-site maintenance. Please also note that there are no international flights at this time.

If you purchase fuel outside our facility we will reimburse you $2.70 for every gallon of fuel you purchase (receipt required). Air America does not advertise "dry rate" aircraft rentals prices. This means the aircraft rental price without any fuel. If you are interested in a long-term aircraft rental of any of our aircraft please contact us for a quote.

No, but it is highly recommended. Our planes are fully insured in the event of an accident but there is a deductible that the pilot-in-command would be responsible for paying. That means any damage up to deductible amount you would have to pay for. Beyond that Air America's insurance would pay for the rest. You can purchase your own flight instructor insurance from companies like Avemco or AOPA to cover the deductible amount. The cost of this insurance varies from pilot to pilot because it is based on their individual experience.

Yes, however there can only be one PIC who is responsible for the safety and operation of the airplane. This must be the person who the airplane is being dispatched to. In the case of using a "safety pilot" for the purpose of time-building the two of you are allowed to log the flight time as PIC (see the question below) however there can still only be one person who is responsible for the safety and operation of the airplane.

It is common for time builders to fly with a partner that is designated as a safety pilot. This allows both pilots to log PIC time but then split the cost of the overall rental (for example you can log 100 hours of PIC time but only pay for approximately 50 hours of it). Although this is perfectly legal, you must follow the regulations to do it properly. The pilot flying must be instrument rated however the safety pilot does not have to be. The total amount of flight time that the pilot flying is wearing a view limiting device the safety pilot is now a "required crew member" and can log the flight time as PIC. The flight must occur in VFR conditions and not on an IFR flight plan. Even though both pilots are logging this flight time as PIC there can only be one PIC who is the "sole manipulator of the controls" and is responsible for the safety and operation of the airplane. The following are some additional considerations:

• If the flight occurs at night both pilot can log it as night time.
• If the flight is a cross country, then only the pilot flying can log the the cross country time because they are the one landing the airplane. This does not apply to ATP time builders because the ATP rating does not require you to land for it to be considered a cross country.
• If you are flying a multi engine airplane then both pilots must have their multi engine ratings.
• If you are flying a complex airplane the safety pilot does not need to have their complex endorsement, because an endorsement is not a rating and they only need to be rated in the airplane class.
• If the flight occurs on an IFR flight plan, the non-instrument rated safety pilot can log the flight time as SIC during the time the PIC is wearing a view limiting device. If both pilots are instrument rated then both of you can log this time as PIC assuming the safety pilot acts as the PIC and the pilot flying is the "sole manipulator of the controls".

Every day! Unlike other flight schools that only offer recency programs on certain dates Air America offers these programs continuously on your schedule.

It depends on how much you want to fly! Most pilots complete the 15 hours within 3-5 days. We recommend planning for 7-10 days to allow for any unforeseen circumstances.

Yes, Indian pilots will need either a visa or a green-card to enter the USA. Any type of visa will be acceptable including B-1 (Business), B-2 (Tourist), F-1 (Student), M-1 (Student) and J-1 (Exchange Visitor).

No, Air America cannot issue an I-20. If you have a M-1 (Student) visa you may be able to receive your flight training here if you first get written permission from the issuer of your visa.

No, you do not have to register with the TSA for a recency program because you are not training for a new certificate or rating.

Yes, Air America instructors are familiar with the DGCA recency paperwork and the proper way to complete this along with your logbook entries.

Please reference our Foreign Pilots Accommodations and Foreign Pilots Transportation pages.

Please reference our Foreign Pilots Accommodations and Foreign Pilots Transportation pages.