Skyborne Airline Academy on Tuesday added to its flagship FAA Part 141 program with an Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP) and CFI pathway for commercial pilot license (CPL) holders.
The academy’s Part 141 program already offered private, instrument, commercial, CFI, and multiengine add-on training out of its Vero Beach, Florida, facility. Skyborne’s new offerings will bridge the gap to prepare students in the U.S. for careers in commercial aviation and instruction.
“With the addition of ATP-CTP, delivered through our approved simulator partners in Miami and Orlando, we are able to support pilots through the critical final phase of preparation for airline operations,” said Lee Woodward, CEO of Skyborne, in a statement. “Together with the new CFI pathway, these programs create a continuous progression chain from commercial pilot to airline readiness, combining structured hour building, instructional experience, and the final academic and simulator training required for ATP certification.”
Skyborne’s U.S. ATP-CTP will combine classroom instruction with full flight simulator training “within a single, structured environment,” it said. Graduates will earn a certificate that allows them to take the FAA’s ATP multi-engine knowledge test at an approved facility.
The new CFI pathway is for both Skyborne graduates and external candidates. It offers CFI, CFI-Instrument (CFII), and Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI) ratings for commercially licensed pilots who want to build their professional hours.
The new courses will begin June 8.
Skyborne Expands
Skyborne’s Part 141 academy offers a 13-month, $102,000 program for candidates with zero hours. It also offers a nine-month, $83,800 partial pathway for private pilot certificate holders to obtain instrument, commercial single-engine, commercial multi-engine, and CFI ratings.
The new ATP-CTP is for commercial pilots approaching the 1,500-hour ATP minimum, foreign ATP holders seeking FAA certification, certain restricted ATP candidates, and military, corporate, or charter pilots looking to move to airline careers. It comprises sessions in flight training devices (FTDs) and full-motion simulators that prepare candidates for transport category operations, automation, upset recovery, high-altitude performance, and multi-crew coordination.
The seven-day program costs about $4,000 and includes four days of ground school, one day of FTD training, and one or two days in the full-motion simulator. Per its website, instructors will bring “airline, military, and advanced jet experience.”
The 16-week CFI pathway program allows CPL holders to obtain CFI, CFII, and MEI ratings for about $36,500. It covers three weeks of ground school, a 12-hour orientation session split between the classroom and the skies, and a two-month CFI course, with additional three-week programs for CFII and MEI ratings.
Applicants to the new courses will be able to secure financing through Skyborne partnerships with Sallie Mae and Stratus Financial, or they can use a 529 college savings plan. The academy has airline pathway partnerships with SkyWest, Frontier Airlines, Republic Airways, Envoy Air, Endeavor Air, and others, claiming that 95 percent of its pilots secure employment across more than 50 airlines worldwide. Graduates are guaranteed interviews but not employment.
Per an FAQ, Skyborne is “prepared for MOSAIC updates” that will permit the use of more efficient aircraft and lower training costs. Its single- and multi-engine fleet of standardized Piper aircraft includes Warriors, Arrows, Pilot 100is, and Seminoles with glass cockpit avionics intended to mirror real airline cockpits. An in-house, Part 145-approved maintenance team conducts routine checks.
Skyborne will be at the Vero Beach Air Show from Friday to Sunday and plans to host an open house in Vero Beach in June, where potential applicants can learn more about the new programs.