Rainier Flight Service

Flights schools tend to focus on the «…we’re teaching safe flying with safe airplanes.» and often let the business side of a customer service experience escape them. I’m oftentimes very outspoken about how a poor customer service experience, or overheard «bull pen» session by the instructors can increase the chances of a less than successful experience during a lesson. Why do I mention this? RFS, Rainier Flight Service, gets this. It’s not a «procedure» for them, but a natural extension of the flying experience. Hanna, Amy or Chandra are always eager to greet the prospective new pilot, the worn out student pilot or the recently crowned private pilot (my most recent experience). It’s not scripted or contrived — but real satisfaction in your experience. My instructor, Dylan, was perfectly matched for my experience. Directed, precise, no BS and expected a great deal out of my lessons. I studied hard — a caution to reviewers and would be pilots. This school provides you the environment, the facilities, the resources and tools to find the most suitable academic and flight environment that you could possibly configure. Take utter advantage of that. My instructor refused to allow the standard «.ok — well that was within the Private Pilot Practical Test Standards, lets’ move on…» — rather, it was always an evaluation of what could be better, what was learned and how we applied it the next time. The structure of the various programs at RFS are well documented and defined (check out the website and read the public documents on standardization, aircraft profiles, etc). The Chief Flight Instructor, Jim, is a no nonsense guy. Perform, learn and apply what you know and he’ll ensure that your earnest effort at obtaining a rating in achieved. This is a no BS experience — put your cards on the table and let the RFS instructor and Chief Instructor sort out any challenges in your academic and practical knowledge. They demonstrate daily an accessible method for ensuring your eventual check ride is routine and less stressful. Some folks look at the RFS schedule and see a difficult environment to schedule lessons and rental aircraft. I look at this as a supply and demand model in a mode where the aircraft are maintained to a standard that people demand them! The instructors, specifically Dylan, is honest, enthusiastic and eager to see you succeed. Remember — like anything — you get what you put into it. As good as the staff and organization at RFS is, they still need a prepared student! Come with that approach and you’ll be very pleased with this outfit.

I am a private pilot, and I was a part 141 student here for a year, but did not finish my license through this school.
My major concern with this school is that there were a lot of safety issues I learned that had to be addressed by my second school (Pinnacle Aviation in Carlsbad, CA) that were not covered by Rainier. Scheduling flights was also very difficult.
Let me qualify my review with a source of bias: studying here was a frustrating experience for me, mostly because I was not a good student. I didn’t put in enough flight time each week and my training stagnated, dragging it out over a year.
That said, I moved to Carlsbad for work and had to change flight schools since I had not finished my part 141. I was at about 60 hours, and only needed my long solo cross country and an 1.8 hours of simulated instrument to finish. We had begun talking about scheduling my checkride before leaving, but it would prove to be too tight of a timeline.
I expected that finishing at Pinnacle Aviation in Carlsbad as a part 61 would be a breeze, and I could finish off my requirements rather quickly. However, the instructors there were very concerned with a lot of my habits that I had developed at Rainier and it took a significant amount of time to correct them. These were not little things — they were important safety elements in becoming a pilot.
Here are some specifics:
–I was unfamiliar with using top of climb and top of descent as way-​points during XC planning. This concept was not introduced to me during training at Rainier — rather a climb fudge factor was applied to fuel and time when planning legs that involved climbs.
–I was told to use 110 knots as cruise the airspeed on the C172SP (N639SP), which showed «familiarity with the aircraft.» It was briefly introduced that the POH could be used to calculate this, but not encouraged as a matter of practice.
–Ground instruction was minimal, and really only emphasized after I failed the second stage check for poor ground knowledge. It was encouraged that the student use Jeppesen to self-​teach.
–The GPS in the glass cockpit was heavily relied on for navigation, to the extent that I never actually practiced VOR navigation more than once.
Why does this matter? On my solo cross country my times were rather off — totaling to almost 10 minutes and a couple of miles deviation at one point. Perhaps it was just wind, or other factors, but this seemed rather significant.
At my second school I was required to calculate and plan airspeeds, course, and fuel use based on temperature, weight, and RPM settings from the POH for every flight. I was also required to repeatedly demonstrate and apply VOR and other navigational techniques during simulated equipment failures. On my long solo cross country I was dead on on almost all of my times, fuel burn, and locations. I have noticed significantly improved accuracy in my ability to predict airspeed, predict ground speed, stay on course, and arrive on time.
While Rainier’s training may be sufficient for day to day normal flight, I fear that I would not have been adequately prepared for an emergency, and many of the habits I learned were nothing short of sloppy. General aviation can go from fun to dangerous, and I seriously recommend that more focus be placed on learning safety skills, because some day your glass cockpit might not work, or you might have a fuel scare, and you will be left to rely on those skills.

Received my PPL from RFS in 2013. Overall a very positive experience — the staff is very friendly and the aircraft were very well maintained. The quality of instruction was excellent and I was more than prepared for my checkride. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in aviation!

These guys deserve more than 5 stars. A whole group of people that love aviation, make it safe and enjoyable. Owned by two Alaska pilots that really care about their business. I love that it’s laid back and their airplanes are top notch. They really get to know you as a person, not just a customer. If you’re looking for a flight school or just a hobby, check these guys out; you won’t be disappointed.

I am a beginning student. Rainier Flight Service is a great place to learn to fly with my instructor, Conor Byrne. It is friendly, professional, very accommodating to my schedule. They emphasize safety, practice, knowledge and the fun of flying. Conor Byrne is a very fine teacher. He has a great ability to instruct about the art of flying and the science of flying. I appreciate his patience, encouragement and calm style of instruction. Renton Airport is a great place to fly and Rainier Flight Service is an excellent flight school. Martha W

I got my private pilot’s license at Rainier Flight Service and was very happy with the experience. They have 3 pretty new Cessna 162s that have glass cockpits for about the same rate as many schools charge for older 152s. Plus, there is rarely scheduling conflicts unless they all go in for their 100 hr maintenance at the same time. They also will fully refund your discovery flight if you continue on with them to your solo. I’d highly recommend them to anyone wanting to try out flying or pursue their PPL.

Having not flown in several years I needed a Flight Review and at the same time a check-​out in an aircraft qualifying as Light Sport. So this was sort of a question of how do I get a «BFR on steroids?»
The answer for me, after talking to three other leading schools, was Rainier Flight Service. Located in a loft at RNT the atmosphere is a lot like a flying club, with a bunch of people who obviously love flying. In my experience the instructor is top notch — supportive, critical, knowledgeable and skilled. They have a number of aircraft, all well maintained, including three Cessna SkyCatchers. The SkyCatcher is a modern, well behaved airplane (hey, it’s a Cessna), is LSA, and is economical to rent. Not many flying schools in the area have them. If you are learning how to fly for the first time this is a nice aircraft to learn in. Like me, if you want to have some fun flying again, it’s great too. I can recommend RFS to you without reservation.

I’m a international student from HongKong, I got my private licence in just 4 months while im also going to college. I would say this is the best school in the area, they charges lower rate than others while the quality of instructing is one of the best in the nation. Most of the instructors was graduated from Embry Riddle aeronautical university which is also one of the best in the world. The owners both are 737 pilot and they shares lots of their experiences to the students and they also make sure the students will get more than enough help so they could go through the progress of success. Try it and you will never regret.