Tailwheel.
Spin. Acro.
Real Control.

Flight instruction for pilots ready to push beyond the basics. Tailwheel endorsements, spin training, upset recovery, aerobatics, commercial prep, complex transition, and flight reviews — tailored to your experience and goals.

Disciplined, safety-focused pilot training. Make the airplane an extension of your body.

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Services

What We Train

Every service is tailored to your certificate, experience level, and goals. Custom training programs focused on risk management and aircraft control.

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Tailwheel Endorsement

Learn disciplined tailwheel technique from the ground up — taxi control, takeoffs, landings, crosswind correction, and energy management. Ground training followed by dozens and dozens of landings, adapted to your progress. Once you are safe and proficient, leave with a 61.31(i) endorsement.

Approx. 10–20 hours depending on prior experience and proficiency.

Spin Training

Recognition, prevention, entry, and recovery. Required for CFI applicants (61.183(i)) and invaluable for all pilots who want a deep understanding and experience-driven confidence to recognize, avoid, and recover from stall/spin scenarios.

Ground instruction and 1–2 flights depending on pace and comfort.

Upset Recovery

Learn to recognize and recover from unusual and extreme flight attitudes before they become emergencies. Emphasis on spatial orientation, recovery logic, energy management, and maintaining aircraft control under stress and limited visual references.

Ground briefing + structured flights.

Aerobatic Training

Aerobatic instruction in the Super Decathlon focused on precision, orientation, and aircraft control. This is deliberate, structured training, not thrill-seeking. A series of short flights build on each other to cover all aerobatic maneuvers in the Primary, Sportsman, and Intermediate IAC categories. Finish with acro upset recovery and a sign-off to fly solo acro in the Super D.

Tailwheel endorsement required (and provided if not already held). Ground training included.

Commercial Training

Commercial prep tailored to your existing experience and guided by the Commercial Pilot ACS and Parts 61 and 91. Ground and flight instruction designed to build regulatory expertise, technical proficiency and professional-level aircraft control, not just checkride minimums.

Conducted in the Cessna 172 or 172RG. Scope and duration determined after initial assessment.

Flight Review & Refresher

For rusty pilots, pilots returning after a gap, or regular flyers. Training is adapted to your actual needs rather than following a generic biennial script. Whether it's a day or a series of refresher training, leave with a 61.56 endorsement and the confidence to be PIC.

Cessna 172, 172RG, or Super Decathlon depending on training focus. Scope and duration dependent on your proficiency, currency, and mission.

Discovery Flights

Acro-curious? This is a structured introduction to the Super Decathlon and the fundamentals of three-dimensional flight. Not a sightseeing ride — a real first look at what aerobatic and upset training actually involves.

Open to certificated pilots. No prior tailwheel or acro experience required.

Complex Endorsement

Transition training for retractable gear, constant-speed propeller, and flaps. Ground instruction covers systems theory, failure modes, and procedures; flight training focuses on smooth operation, decision-making, and muscle memory under realistic conditions. Finish with a 61.31(e) endorsement.

Typically 5-10 hours depending on prior experience. Conducted in the Cessna 172RG Cutlass. Private pilot certificate required.

Training Philosophy

How We Train

Training structure and approach built around your experience, pace, and actual needs.

Safety First and Always

You'll never be asked to do something that isn't safe or within your current skill level. We build confidence through structured progression, not by throwing you in the deep end.

Foundations are Built on the Ground

Every training block starts on the ground. You'll understand the aerodynamics, the systems, the failure modes, and the recovery logic before strapping in. That foundation makes the flying part click.

Your Pace, Not Mine

There's no fixed timeline. Whether it's tailwheel, acro, or a flight review. We keep flying until you're proficient, not until the syllabus says you're done. Rushing builds bad habits. Waiting wastes money.

"Why" Matters

You'll understand the logic behind every maneuver and recovery technique—not just how to execute it, but why it works that way. That knowledge sticks with you and transfers to situations you haven't trained yet.

Real Scenarios Over Rote

Training isn't a checklist of maneuvers performed in a vacuum. We work scenarios that actually matter—crosswind landings that are gusty, spins entered from a slip, unusual attitudes you might actually encounter and need to recover from.

Instructor

Trevor Zink

Certified Flight Instructor

Trevor holds a flight instructor certificate for single engine airplanes as well as a ground instructor certificate with advanced and instrument ratings. He holds a commerial pilot certificate with single engine land privileges and an instrument rating. He also holds a private pilot certificate for single engine seaplanes (so fun!) and a remote pilot certificate (why not?). Trevor specializes in tailwheel, spin, upset, and aerobatic instruction in the 8KCAB American Champion Super Decathlon, and teaches commercial students, complex transitions, and conducts flight reviews in the Cessna 172 and 172RG.

His training philosophy emphasizes disciplined flying, precise aircraft control, and sound judgment — and understanding the why behind every maneuver and recovery technique, not just the mechanics of executing it.

Aircraft

Super Decathlon

8KCAB American Champion

Tailwheel training
Spin training
Upset recovery
Aerobatic instruction
Discovery flights

Cessna 172 / RG

Skyhawk / Cutlass

Commercial training
Complex transition
Flight reviews
Refresher & proficiency

Location

Based at
Santa Monica
Airport

Training is based out of KSMO. Training in your aircraft is also available at airports across the greater Los Angeles area. Learn to navigate the world's busiest airspace, and you'll be proficient no matter where you fly.

Available Airports