Hillsboro Aero Academy – Flight Training School, Hillsboro | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

I did both helicopter and airplane training with Hillsboro. The training is done in a safe training environment with skilled and friendly flight instructors who want you to succeed as a student and in a future job. This is one of the best flight schools in Oregon. You will learn a lot about weather, but you will also become a really good pilot while having the ability to fly in diverse weather or low visibility conditions. It was one of the reasons I chose this school as I couldn’t get that experience anywhere else. They have a very large fleet of helicopters and airplanes and also have a safety management system/director of safety so you can rest assured that safety is their biggest priority. You’ll feel supported by everyone you meet, and those who play a part in your direct training from your first flight lesson to your first FAA checkride whether in airplanes or rotorwing. Admin staff, admissions, chief instructor, asst. chiefs, mechanics, dispatchers and instructors are all very friendly and make you feel like you are part of a community even though it is a large flight school. Customer service is great with every department, and you always have someone to help you if it’s needed. I had no problems in my training and I highly recommend this school for airplane or helicopter training, or in my own case, both. You’ll be very satisfied with the decision to fly at Hillsboro as you’ll get the best quality training in the industry.

Their current chief instructor did pretty bad work. Force students fly without considering their limitations. Literally unable to communicate with him and give me no choice to cancel any scheduled flights. Those flights are managed by them without asking student’s opinion. Even if I said I was not able to make the flight days before the date, they didn’t let me cancel and give me $100 penalty. Their appeal procedure is a joke. Their chief and management team is getting worse and worse. The only thing they care about is your money instead of your success. That’s the main reason I quit from this school. They charge higher than the average but treat you low. I don’t recommend this school to anyone especially for international students. Unless you are ready to fly anytime they wanted you to, because you can’t say no.

What a horrible school ran by horrible management. Continuously screws their students and teachers financially due to the incompetence of the management. Would not be shocked if HAA goes bankrupt within the next 2 years.

EDIT: The owner replies and probably does care about students/employees. However, they took away salary from all of their employees unless they meet a ridiculous quota which is almost unobtainable even though the contract the employees signed states they will be given salary. Additionally, they are currently firing a lot of instructors and taking on foreign instructors which they don’t have to pay. Great business plan, but shows a lack of compassion towards the employees.