Looked at a few other flight schools in the area and did discovery flights with a few of them but SEFT stood out because of how well maintained their fleet and facilities are and how friendly and knowledgeable their entire staff is. From the owner and his family to the instructors and dispatchers, everyone is welcoming and always have a genuine love for what they do especially Taylor who has helped me a lot during my time at SEFT. I decided to get my PPL with them and I was able to achieve that with the patience and determination of the instructors I worked with. I enjoyed it so much that I am now working on my instrument rating with them as well. I highly recommend them if you are looking for flight training or rentals!

Im so happy to have found a flight school that is giving me the quality instruction that I need and have been searching for. I have been flying with Taylor Bishop and I really cant say enough how grateful I am to have him as my Flight Instructor or ask for any better quality of instruction. Also the aircraft are always well maintained here and when I step onto the ramp Im confident that the plane will be ready to go for my flight.I have flown with quite a few instructors, and a few flight schools as well, and I believe I finally found the one that best fits me and what I need from a flight school. Im working on my commercial license and the lessons I am receiving here have been top quality and a huge confidence builder. Definitely will recommend this place to others looking for a good flight school.

Instructors here are excellent and flexible with scheduling. They even allow you to book by yourself! Find another school in the valley that allows you to do that. Highly recommend this school for any of your training needs. Their 2017 G1000 C172S is a dream to fly. I recently flew that aircraft to Oceanside, CA for my Commercial cross country flight. Plane was spotless and performed perfectly the whole flight.

I recently completed my training for my private pilot certificate at SEFT and had a really great experience. My CFI, Tyler Knudson, is an incredible teacher and made the whole process a lot of fun to boot. The staff are super friendly, accommodating, and flexible, which helped me stay on track with my training schedule. Their planes are well maintained and a joy to fly. For my private pilot, their 172Ks offered a great experience without breaking the bank, but the newer models with glass cockpits are available too!I cant recommend them enough for anyone looking for flight training or rentals!

Took a discovery flight with Dave to Sedona today and it was worth the cost. Beautiful views, pictures, and got to see military helicopters landing in formation!

Great instructor named Julie helped me with a great plan to get my instrument rating. She developed plan and we worked hard and got results ( unlike other instructors who just have no plan of action).Good planes at the school and they maintain them better now than they used to.I would say its better to have a fixed wet rate include all other misc fees rather than dry..

Best flight school in the valley. Instructors are all very knowledgeable and flexible with scheduling. Aircraft are all maintained very well and always safe for flight. Guy, the owner, takes pride in his business and always puts the customer first. Highly recommend this school for any of your training needs.

Best of the best, I have worked with many other operations and this one is the real deal. The team is awesome the people are great and the training is some of the best.

Great experience at Scottsdale executive flight training. Carl and Peyton both excellent instructors. Planes are well maintained and there offices are clean , organized and their fees are right in line with what they should be.

I think Scottsdale Executive Flight Training is really great. Really friendly and professional staff. Their planes are really clean and maintenance is always to regulations standards. When getting checked out in the Cirrus aircraft with their flight instructors; its very easy and not over complicated like many other rental companies in the Phoenix area are. Thanks for the great experience!

My experience has drastically improved ever since I got assigned to a new instructor David Wagner. He is a very good instructor that is the most knowledgeable I’ve seen. He always explains things in ways that are easy to remember and to understand. I do recommend flying their c172 g1000 which is the best plane to train on. I always receive an emailed debrief after each lesson of the things we went over, what I did good at and what I need to study and improve. Definetly a great instructor, highly recommend him. Great school with good prices. Make sure they charge you Block rates. I was being charged regular which was more expensive because of an error of their past employees that no longer works there. Unfortunately caught it too late to get credited, only reason for 4 stars. Still a great school and I recommend training there. Cirrus’s they have are fun as well!

Just signed up with my new instructor Brek Carper. It was easy to get started and extremely professional. I had left another school at the same airpark and I could tell from my very first lesson this was going to be a positive experience. Looking forward to continuing my training.

It is with regret that I am writing a 2* review for Scottsdale Executive Flight Schools.Note that a good number of the 5* reviews are from employees of the school and instructors. First let me note that Lorenz as a flight instructor is simply fantastic - I would recommend him again and again - the only reason this place got an additional star.However the school itself is not a place you want to trust your money with. I put down money for a block rate - I didnt knowingly sign anything that said I couldnt get a refund for the block rate payment.Unfortunately I got sick and couldnt fly. It was an absolute hassle to get any money back from them - the manager is not personable and staff were hard to deal with. They basically tried to make it as hard as possible to get money back - including noting that they need permission from the plane owners.Eventually they agreed to refund SOME of the money but took a huge chunk out that they said was the credit card charge (again nothing in writing previously) and Im down nearly $200, which they would not have had to fully pay to the credit card company.I am simply disappointed with the service. I stopped due to sickness after having spent nearly $5000 with them - the decent thing to do would have been to refund the money. Of course, 5* reviews from staff and 1* reviews from pupils should tell you that there are plenty of flight schools out there - choose another to trust your money with.

I would highly recommend Alliance Flight Schools. Dave Thomas helped me with my instruction and really understands high level customer service. My schedule is really busy and Dave did a fabulous job of being prompt and thorough in meeting my needs for a flight proficiency check ride. He even offered to have me call his personal cell phone in the evening to coordinate a training plan. Their aircraft are second to none and are meticulously maintained. Top notch operation that makes it easy to do business with them.

I have been renting from Alliance Flight Schools since October 2013 and I have never been disappointed. The management is fantastic and the planes are always ready to fly when you want them to. Flying out of Scottsdale Airport is quick and easy because theres only one runway and the taxiing is easy too. I received my complex rating here at Alliance Flight Schools in their Piper Arrow. The process was simple and my instructor made everything very clear to me and most importantly I had fun. I have been to a few flight schools in the Phoenix area and I dont hesitate when I say this place is the best place to get your flight training done.

Scottsdale Executive Flight Training (SEFT) has been one of the greatest customer experiences.I have enjoyed an exceptional customer experience at SEFT. The owner has cast an outstanding staff of instructors. I am currently training for my Private Pilot License and the instruction I have received is well planned, perfectly communicated, and exceeds my expectations. I would like to thank my instructors Kendall, Robert, and Jim for their professionalism, demeanor and knowledge preparing me for the eventual check ride.I had previously attended two other flight training facilities and I am so grateful for contacting SEFT. I would not consider flight training anywhere else. I will continue with SEFT through my transition training and instrument rating.In addition, Scottsdale Airport is a great place to learn how to fly. I have been exposed to many scenarios which gives me the confidence to navigate any situation as a pilot.

Zero stars. Run away from here. When I was ready to start flight training, their Chief Instructor Taylor Bishop set me up with one instructor: Gabriel Boysen. Chief mentioned all Gabs students had completed their check rides and his schedule is completely free. Into the first or second lesson it became very evident I am his first and only student. He called the static wick as extra antennas. Later my invoices came and I was shocked. For 2 hours of flight time, he would charge me 2 hours of flight instruction time and like 1.5 hours of ground instruction time. The moment I pointed it out to him, he refused to remove them and he got quite angry with me during his flight instructions. And because I was his only student, hed keep forcing me to take instructions on an every day basis even though Id told multiple times I would tell him whenever I am ready for the next flight. I lost lot of $ in over billing but after some debate they agreed to knock off some. I still havent recovered it all back and just had to let it go.After that horrible experience, I moved to another instructor who was quite knowledgable, taught me flying well and was fun to work with.Once my instructor was not available, so I flew with one of their senior Instructors: Jarren Nesbitt. Jarren had instructed me to keep flying straight on the downwind since there was a plane on the final. Moments later, tower informed me, Base turn approved. I acknowledged that back to tower over the radio, started configuring, turned base and after a few seconds turned final. When I was on the short final and seconds from landing, he said, I told you to go straight, why did you turn base?. I told him, Tower cleared me for the base turn, there is no one in the base or final and hence I turned. He again asked in a yelling tone, WHY DID YOU TURN BASE WHEN I TOLD YOU TO FLY STRAIGHT?. Imagine flying with a guy like this. I literally had to ask him to stop our instruction right away and get back to ground. Ideally his CFI license should be revoked.Not sure what Jarren told Taylor, Taylor called me the next day and said he wants to see me fly and pulled me out of my usual instructor. He did eventually allow me to solo and I had 3 hours and 9 landings of solo time. However even after 7 hours of dual cross country time, he still wants another 3.5 hours of cross country time with him. Just right after departure in the beginning of my second cross country flight, he said he wanted to see one more without even seeing how I performed on the flight. To add to his reasoning, he took over the entire radio prior to landing in a non-towered airport. I could see where he was going with his reasoning and I did all the radio calls departing out of the non-towered airport and in all the other segments of the flight. In the same sentence he mentioned it took him 90 hours for his Private Pilot and he is still paying his student loans. If he really was in my best interest, he could have instead opted for one shorter cross country to cover all the things he wants to see prior to clearing me. It was getting obvious he wanted to get his debt cleared.When I asked the Taylor if he was really working in my best interest or not, he got defensive and said I was questioning his integrity. He lost his integrity on day 1 when he blank faced lied to me saying he was setting me up with his senior instructor who in reality had never ever instructed any student.Taylor later texted me that if I ever questioned his judgement again or tried to cut corners, I will not be a student anymore in their school. He refused to let me switch instructors or go back to my usual instructor even though my usual instructor was ready to take me back. Looks like I hurt his ego. Their management werent ready to talk to me either and finally they relieved me from their school. Their management owned by Guy Milanovits and his wife are really something. They sent me notices to remove my online reviews.

So far my experience here has been amazing. Its a great place to go if youre wanting to learn how to fly. I have Shalyn as an instructor and she has been so helpful and has taught me so much. I would not choose any other school to help me achieve my dreams

This school was actually recommended to me by Dr. Raniolo, during my medical he mentioned how great this school was so I decided to give it a shot. Out of curiosity I went down to pick up some information, and learn more. Long story short Ive been with this school for about 2 months and I have no regrets. The staff and instructors are awesome and want to help each student progress and pass theyre check ride. Scottsdale Executive is definitely helping become the pilot I want to be!

I recently completed my Flight Review as well as training in the Cirrus S22T which was awesome! The guys are great, the planes available, the automated system - great place to go! Highly recommend.

Have rented their 172s, 152, and even the Piper Arrow back when it was on the fleet. Great staff, qualified instructors, clean facilities, and excellent aircraft.

I came to Alliance halfway through my private pilot license training and words cannot express how happy I am for choosing Alliance over the many other flight schools in Phoenix. Obtaining a pilot’s license is something you put your heart and soul into, and to have instructors who are willing to put an equal amount of commitment and passion into your training as you are is absolutely crucial. I have had the opportunity to fly with 5 of the Alliance flight instructors, and with every lesson their experience and knowledge was transformed into a resource for me to use. Aside from being a student at Alliance, I have now been renting from them for 4 months as a private pilot and have never been unsatisfied with airplane maintenance, availability or cost. Alliance is truly an unparalleled flight school.

Been renting aircraft here for over a year and Ive had only good experiences. Great office staff and very knowledgeable instructors who make flight training and aircraft checkouts fun and easy but make sure you are safe and comfortable every time you fly. Their planes are top notch, clean, up to date, and very well maintained. If youre looking to start flying or renting this is the place to go.

Ive been going to Scottsdale Executive for a little over a month now. Friendly staff, patient staff (which is super important when youre trying to learn something complex and dangerous). Im very pleased with my decision to go to Scottsdale Executive for my training.

This company is completely unprofessional and unethical. I was enticed to sign up for this school by a flight instructor employed by them by being offered a free Discovery Flight . After the flight I decided to sign up for the schooling and put my cc info on file. I was then surprised by a $249 charge for the flight that I never authorized. I contacted the company to dispute the charge and was told they would do nothing about it. They turned my dream of starting flight school into a hassle. Beware when giving them your financial information.

Our 14 year old son is receiving flight instruction for his private pilots license at Alliance Flight Schools. He likes flying either one of the two well maintained Cessnas. The instructors are knowledgeable, good trainers and very safety conscious. We will continue his flight lessons at Alliance. We are comfortable knowing he is in good hands when he is on a lesson alone with the instructor.

Unprofessional, disorganized, and high ego from those young instuctors. Flight training is not their primary business, so training quality wont be guaranteed.I did two flights with them last weekend during my short trip in Arizona from June 7th to 11th. I live in NY, and the purpose of this private trip is to find a school to do my commercial single&multi engine, CFI, CFII, MEI training. Im doing instrument training right now at a flight school in NY. Due to bad weather, im looking for opportunity in Arizona.I have contact with the chief pilot through email and two phone calls before i flew to Phoenix from New York. I told him that id like to rent their C172 G1000 which i passed my private checkride with the same type. And i also told him that im looking for a flight school to finish my whole training. He scheduled a rental checkout flight with one instructor at 12. I asked him whether i can come a little earlier to talk to someone about the training. Then he scheduled one hour ground school for me with the instructor. I was supposed to have a consultation with admission. Normally any other school will have a free consultation, just to get the information. They were going to charge me to just fill in the forms and get information which the instructor did later.My mistake, i still took the flight with them. Because i was missled with these possitive reviews. One review wrote most reviews were written by their employee. I didnt believed. Now i believe it. And i should speak out my own experience with them and let the consumers have a real comparision.In the very beginning, i asked the instructor about the instruction rate. He said $100 without thinking or ask other instructor(someone was there). Their rate is $70 exclude commecial or cirrus training. I talked to him on the phone before i came to Arizona. And i have told him that i fly a cessna(not Cirrus), and im a private pilot(not doing commercial training). And they should also tell me that there are many paper work to do as a new client, so that i could come earlier or a day before to fill out the forms, etc. They should not charge me about it as ground school!! Its not about the money, its about principal! Im a 36 years old mother, and my husband is the senior manager from a world top 500 company. We are expert family in New York which the company sent us from Germany. I have studied and travelled all over the world. And im not the 20 years old innorcent girl the instructor thought he could fool with.So basiclly on weekends, the instructors jumped around to do different things. Dont try with the young, low time instructors there. Theyll caculate every minute. I argued with them, so they deducted 20-30 minutes. And after the flight, i wasnt very satisfied. But i still behaved in a polite manner. but the instructor told me that i should check with the flight school next door, Sierra Charlie Aviation which i did. Be honest, huge difference, the employee are so friendly and the office manager asked one instructor to show me around the school. They are on my top list to finish my whole training. I have done business myself when i was in Germany. Frankly speaking, how could you send a potential client to the competitor? But in the other hand, i do understand, the instructor is just an employee, its not their own business. They dont care to lose a client.Anyway, i have wasted $762 with them and did useless maneuvers. But later i did a private helicopter tour to Sedona after the flights with them.Aferr visiting 5 airports and almost 10 schools in Phoenix and i found two favorite schools which im in contact with.Tips for others who are looking for flight training, do your research and talk to the school in person, if theyll charge you for the consultation, just skip the school. If youre going to visit Scottsdale Executive, dont forget to set up an oppointment with Sierra Charlie Aviation. They are just next to each other. But better service. And flight training is their primary business, so the training quality is important for them.

Super professional and nice instructors, top notch aircraft and friendly & helpful service. We had a great time renting SEFTs aircraft and flying around in AZ/CA

What a great place to train and rent. Top tier staff, aircraft always available and in the best condition. Why go anywhere else? A++

I flew with them when they rented at a wet rate. When they switched to a dry rate I rented elsewhere for less. I recently returned when they offered a summer special on their dry rate making them competitive again. On my last flight 8/14/13 I had to wait over 45 minutes before the aircraft was fueled and I could pay my bill. When I complained I was put on the no fly list despite the fact that it was I that suffered the inconvenience.

My experience with SEFT was excellent. I started my PPL training with another flight school and was disappointed with the quality of the aircraft and my instruction. I initially enrolled with SEFT because they were a certified Platinum Cirrus Training School and wanted my training in a Cirrus. However, they have a wide selection of aircraft including Cessnas, Arrow, Cirrus etc. I have been training with them for over 4 months and have nothing but praise for the school. From the office managers, Jordan and Alex to the instructors. Always smiling, friendly and helpful. My primary instructor was Carl who is the Chief Pilot and was a fantastic instructor. He was patient, extremely knowledgeable, firm yet fair in is training approach. When my primary instructor was not available I used Peyton who also was a quality person and instructor. If you are considering flight training I would highly recommend that you contact SEFT and see what they have to offer for you. You will be welcomed and they will be more than happy to taylor a program to meet you needs.

I had an amazing experience with Alliance. I flew a scenic flight with CFI Tanner Allen to Sedona in the Cessna 172. The scenery was beautiful and the flight was so much fun. Their staff is very professional and it was overall a 5 star flight.

Amazing experience. My desire to learn to fly came late in life for me so I was not sure if it was something I wanted to do. I visited all available flight training centers in my area and was impressed by the professionalism at Alliance. Their flexibility to meet my schedule along with their understanding of my goals made me realize that this was the place to learn even though I live about an hour away from Scottsdale and have Chandler and Falcon Fields nearby. Ben Eichelberger explained their process, gave me a tour of their fleet and facilities and even worked out a cost estimate with realistic hours to complete the course, not just the minimum hours required. He arranged my lessons with Carl May and I could not have been more pleased. Carl has been great, I feel confident with his many years of training and his flexibility of working into my schedule or having either Justin or Tanner fill in when he was not available. I still have a ways to go but I know I will complete the training for my private pilot certificate and add my IFR rating as soon as possible afterwards. Jessica and Lawrence in the office have also been exceptional and they are a pleasure to deal with. I always look forward to my next lesson, there is not a time that I do not learn something new and Im loving it.

I trained at SEFT for my PPL. Although I did most of my training with Tanner Allen, whom was amazing, I also had the opportunity to fly with all of the other instructors at SEFT. All of the instructors are very professional, knowledgeable, and great to fly with. The instructors will work with your schedule and make sure you get all the flights you want. With a plethora of excellently maintained planes, a great maintenance crew, and amazing instructors, I dont believe there is a better place to train or rent an aircraft in the Phoenix area.

Alliance Flight Schools helped my dreams of becoming a pilot take flight, literally and figuratively. Ever since I was 3 years old I dreamed of earning a pilot’s license (airman’s certificate) to go fly wherever I wanted, even to become a commercial aviation pilot one day. After many years of holding back and letting other things in life stop me from my dream I had to finally do something. The moment came after a good friend of mine’s father had unfortunately passed away. He was a private pilot and had been an inspiration to me for years. I realized suddenly that life is not forever and making the decision could not wait another day. After vetting several other flight schools and academies around the valley, including some intro flights, I was certain that Alliance was the way to go. At first they seemed slightly more expensive than some of the others, however their well-maintained planes, seasoned instructors, and overall great vibe had me sold. Looking back, I have no regrets and thankful that I chose Alliance to help me accomplish the dream of becoming a pilot. In just six months, they worked with my complex schedule and allowed me to take my lessons at my convenience while making it feasible for me financially as well. My instructors were amazing and helped custom tailor my entire experience to my abilities and needs throughout the entire process. I completed my checkride on time and as planned in just six months. After, I continued to seek additional qualifications by getting my complex endorsement as well as completing my Cirrus aircraft transition training.Alliance has the best and extremely well maintained fleet in town, especially with the new Cirrus SR20’s and 22’s. The planes are nice to fly, well appointed, and my passengers enjoy the safety and comfort I know could not be offered aboard any other aircraft. If you are even contemplating on getting your license to fly I highly suggest Alliance Flight Schools as the route to take. They will be with you every step of the way and help you through the process from start to finish and beyond.Happy flying!

Truly a first class flight school -- The facility, instructors, planes, everything. Before I started training with Ian a few months ago I took a first lesson at another school in Mesa which didnt even compare.

Without a doubt one of the best flight schools I have been to. I came to Alliance to complete their accelerated IFR program, and successfully completed it (certificate and all) in only 19 days. I had no prior instrument experience except for the 3 hours of hood time from the PPL plus I needed roughly 35 hours of XC PIC time, which made my demands pretty hard to fulfill. My flight instructor Ben, was awesome to fly with and taught me everything I needed to know to be a safe instrument pilot. The rest of the staff, and other instructors were more than amazing. It was like being part of one huge family. They even took me out to lunch for my birthday. One key item that I would like to note is how accommodating they were. I stayed at the Thunderbird hotel (literally on the airport), so Alliance made arrangements to get me to and from the hotel every day. I honestly cant find one bad thing to say about Alliance. They helped me out tremendously, and it was such a great experience.

Took my first flight here a while back, and did all of my training here. Great staff and great fleet.

Flight Instructor cancelled often so he could go practice can show receipt of lesson owner you know who I am