Southwest Flight Center

I have a Cessna R182 that I park in the Greenway shades. Any time I’ve needed anything, southwest flight Center has always been more than helpful! For instance, I didn’t have a Skybound USB adapter to update my Garman, and SW. Flight Center allowed me to update my card using their equipment in a pinch for a checkride. When my plane went in for an avionics upgrade, I was able to get checked out in several Southwest flight center’s planes, and use them to get around. Also, the maintenance shop, especially George, has been fantastic. They fit me in for an oil change immediately, and also have been a fantastic source of little parts that I needed here and there. They are an asset to the industry and to the people who share this field with them.
I would highly recommend their repair shop, instructors, and airplanes to anyone.

I decided to start flying again and needed to get my biennial flight review so I called for an appointment with a plane and an instructor. The woman who answered the phone fumbled around with «the schedule» for a while and finally said she would have to have an instructor call me back. After waiting over 24 hours I called again on Thursday and she asked «Didn’t he call you?» (obviously not). So, after more fumbling around, she finally managed to book me for 1 pm on Saturday with an instructor and a plane. The next day, Friday, she called me to ask if I wanted to fly earlier, at 11 am on Saturday. That worked well for me so I accepted the new 11 am time. The next day, I arrived at about 10:35 am and was met by a flight instructor (the one who never called me back) who was running the desk. He said that the office manager had scheduled me for 11 am but hadn’t told the instructor and he was still planning on 1 pm. The wasted round trip for me was a two hour drive. He asked «Would you like to reschedule?» I don’t think so…

We are not Pilots but we did the Flight Simulator. It was a total blast and I highly recommend it to everybody. You take off and land all over the world. Myron was awesome

I am a student pilot who visited the Phoenix area for business. With a few hours to kill on a Sunday and the beautiful landscape of Arizona beckoning from all around, I decided to book a training flight with Southwest that would essentially amount to an aerial tour, and build some cross-​country hours while I was at it. As a student, I needed to with a CFI, so they set me up with instructor Sam C.
We planned a quick flight up to Sedona, and on the way Sam was pointing out all the landmarks and tips for flying in the vicinity of mountainous terrain. Sam is one of their newer CFIs but is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. We took a C172R, which appeared well-​maintained and flew well. The scenery en route is simply spectacular, especially nearing sunset.
Overall it was a wonderful experience. I liked that the office was very willing to accommodate an out-​of-​town student late on a Sunday afternoon. I felt I was in good hands all the way with the CFI and the aircraft. If I’m ever back in the Valley of the Sun, I will certainly rent another aircraft from Southwest Flight Center.

I am a private pilot with 240 hours of experience. Several months ago I checked out in Southwest Flight Center’s C172 plane and had a successful experience. The CFI, Mark B., was professional and an excellent pilot and instructor. He signed me off, and I was able to rent their 172sp models.
As part of my commitment to flying, I occasionally choose to go up with an instructor to remain sharp and competent in my airmanship and knowledge of the aircraft. I recently called Southwest Flight Center and requested to rent an aircraft with an instructor. Judy took my call and was very helpful in scheduling me with Tonie and N3154U. Tonie and I met at the airport and planned the flight. Since I had to be at work at 9 am that morning, I decided it would be best to stay in the pattern and work on touch-n-go’s. We continued as planned and did 5 or 6 turns around the circuit. Everything went smoothly. Tonie was an excellent instructor and is exactly what a CFI should be.
Since we had a short flight that morning, I decided it would be best to schedule again for the weekend to work on airwork (stalls, steep turns, emergency maneuvers, etc.) Tonie was able to fit me in that Saturday morning and put us on the schedule.
Later that day, I decided I also wanted to fly on Sunday morning after my already scheduled lesson with Tonie. The older man (Richard), who works the front desk at Southwest Flight Center, answered my phone call, and I requested to reserve the aircraft for Sunday in addition to my already scheduled lesson on Saturday. For some reason, he became agitated by this request and said that he would have to rethink whether I should be renting the airplane or not; he said he would get back to me. I asked why that was since I have flown their aircraft numerous times in the past without any issues. He responded by saying he wasn’t comfortable renting his airplanes to me because I was scheduling instructors. I told him it’s common and routine for pilots to get recurrent training to stay competent and current. He told me that after 30 years of experience in the aviation business, he found this approach to be unusual.
I was speechless that an employee of a flight school would say that. He was incredibly rude when voicing his opinion, and when I said that this is ridiculous to deny pilots in this way, he became defensive and told me that I was not allowed to fly his company’s airplane on Sunday and that he was also taking me off the schedule for Saturday with Tonie. He quickly hung up on me.
Richard is not a pilot but he is a gatekeeper to the airplanes and doesn’t consult with the instructors. No pilot should feel bad or be reprimanded for seeking out additional flight instruction. Safety is #1 in aviation and people getting in the way of it do not belong in this industry. I doubt I am the only one he has turned away with this behavior. The pilot population is shrinking and aviation cannot afford to have people like Richard treating others this way. It’s a true shame he represents Southwest Flight Center, because otherwise, they have great instructors and decent aircraft. I am now completely uncomfortable calling this business or seeing/​speaking with Richard again. I will have to look at alternative options at the Scottsdale airport.

I went in a while back to finish up my CFI. I wanted to rent their C172RG. I show up, and sit down with the owner, and one of his CFI’s. They start looking through my log book and immediately start making comments, about my tailwheel time, where I have flown etc.
I wanted to get checked out in the RG, and fly with my own flight instructor for a few hours to get ready for the CFI ride. The owner gets very upset when I asked to fly with with my own flight instructor or a «free lance» instructor. When I did call prior to showing up and clear this with them and was referred by a friend. Long story short, I sat on the couch and got in a full on argument with these guys saying to me «You think were just going to let you get checked out in the plane, and go off with your own instructor!» WE don’t know him! we don’t know you!” I guess I just through they would want the business and did not expect to get treated like total garbage as a potential customer. I did not know I was walking in for a personal interview, and being drilled with questions like I was joining some golf club or a fraternity.
Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but I will never be going back to «attempt» to rent from Southwest.

The owner and office personnel were nice. But my instructor had a bad temper, was very impatient and also skipped items on check lists. He was always late for lessions and just absolutely no help at all if you asked questions. Go to Sawyer Aviation, very professional, patient, and you will earn your license in fewer hours. Sawyer is also much cheaper on plane and instructor rates. Southwest’s planes are older and in not as good a shape as Sawyers. In fact, go anywhere else but Southwest!

I did my private pilot training here from August of 2007 until March of 2008. I still rent planes from them to maintain my currency and do my Bi-​Annual flight reviews. If you live in/​around the Scottsdale Airport and have ever wanted to learn how to fly, this is your place!