Paragon Flight Training Sees Record Student Enrollment

Paragon Flight Training is witnessing a stunning growth trajectory with student enrollment at an all-time high. The milestone, along with other company news, was announced by Paragon Flight Training President Chris Schoensee.

“Our enrollment for Q1 2024 was record-setting, and we now have a backlog of students waiting to begin their flight training program in September, with other student start dates extended to spring 2025,” said Paragon Flight Training President Chris Schoensee. “Clearly, the demand for pursuing a career as a commercial pilot remains exceptionally strong. And it’s not just at Paragon Flight; I’m hearing of positive growth trends in other peer flight academies as well.”

Corresponding with its high enrollment, Paragon Flight is on target to increase its aircraft training flight hours, a standard industry gauge, to 40,000 in 2024 – more than 60% higher than the 26,000 training hours tallied in 2023, which was also a record-setting number. The company now has 50 full-time flight instructors to meet student needs and is upping its maintenance team of aircraft technicians to eight in order to maintain its elite fleet.

Per a previously announced long-term strategy to add 50 Piper aircraft by the end of 2027, Paragon Flight will add nine new Piper P100i’s this year, with the first arriving this month. With over 20 Piper P100i aircraft currently in its fleet, Paragon Flight owns approximately 15% of the Piper P100i aircraft in existence, including the milestone 100th Piper P100i.

As a part of its push to increase efficiency and encourage sustainability in flight training, Paragon Flight also announced additions to its simulator training inventory, with agreements signed to receive - within 12-15 months - two more ALSIM simulators to complement its Piper P100i aircraft, and the Redbird Xwind simulator.

“Advanced simulator training is an absolute must for leading pilot training programs,” Schoensee said. “The ALSIM simulator matches the cockpit of the Piper P100i button-for-button, and the Redbird Xwind simulator is essential for maximizing student training in crosswinds conditions, which are the most difficult conditions for student pilots to master in the first stages of their pilot training experience.”

In addition to serving as president and owner of Paragon Flight Training, Schoensee is also president and chairman of the board of the National Flight Training Alliance.