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INSTRUCTION:

SNAPSHOT: You’ll need 15 hours of instruction, 5 hours supervised solo, ground school, pass a 40-question FAA test, and finally a Practical Test with an Examiner. The cost is around $8000 & will take about 8 full days. Most people split the process into multiple trips because – you’ll be tired – delays are inevitable – and the weather probably won’t cooperate. If you’re already a pilot (current or not) you’ll need about 5-10 hours of transition training & we’ll finish you off with a BFR in the trike to give you Sport Pilot privileges. If you’re a high-time ATP, you’ll absolutely hate the first 2 hours & becoming a student again – but you’ll survive. Motorcycle or heavy equipment experience will prove more valuable than 3-axis aviation experience.

IN SUMMARY: Wild Sky’s senior instructors are Denise Sanders (formerly owner of Paradise Air Hawaii) & Denny Reed (owner of Trikeschool LLC). Combined, we have over 32 years & over 17,000 combined hours of training in trikes with perfect safety records. According to NTSB, FAA databases and our private industry knowledge, we are the only trike instructors with these credentials in North America. We are & will continue to be extremely conservative pilots & business operators. We accept only 15 – 20 new clients per year. For those sharing our vision, there is absolutely nothing we can’t do for you anytime or anywhere in the world – provided that the project or task is safe, legal, profitable, and you are not (and won’t likely become) a risk to yourself, the industry or our team’s sanity.

DISCLAIMER: Despite a high degree of self importance pilots place on themselves, we’re not exactly curing cancer here. We simply like to fly, have fun & enjoy long-term relationships & adventures with clients who value the same. However, our background & expertise is in the extreme sports & adventure industries requiring a high degree of vigilance, self reliance & can be life-threatening. With that being said, we simply cannot accept all applicants to our school – nor do we agree to sell our equipment to just anyone who inquires. Further, we are likely more expensive than the 12 other “active” trike instructors in the United States by 15-20%. Our focus is on the most proven aircraft & equipment, pilot safety & operational efficiency. This combination typically results in getting you done faster with a higher degree of self-reliance for less money than other operations charge despite a lower hourly rate. However, if you begin to dictate what you need to be successful, the learning process will slow dramatically along with priority. We know our craft & we don’t buy into anyone’s (clients’ or competitors’) propaganda or bullshit. You will NOT see us on social media trying to convince anyone we are the best pilots, instructors nor offer the best equipment. If any one person, instructor or aircraft was the “best”, there could not be an industry.

NOTE TO INSTRUCTORS: The Goat by Wild Sky requires a Make/Model endorsement to provide instruction per compliance with the Wild Sky Flight Training Supplement (FTS). In summary, you or your instructor must receive and log a minimum total of 5.0 hours Make/Model training specific to the Wild Sky/Goat. This training will consist of In-Flight Transition Training, Ground Training & Maintenance and will be taught by a Wild Sky authorized Instructor or Factory Pro. Upon completion, you will receive an endorsement to offer this same training to others. If you see training as redundant & unnecessary based on your current confidence in your skills or product knowledge & don’t see training as a opportunity to learn new skills & information, please leave this site now. This training requirement was derived 19 years of industry experience with many of the worlds top brands of flying machines as well as awful experiences investigating completely unnecessary accidents for the National Transportation & Safety Board. While we don’t find it to be entirely clear, there is context in the US FAR/AIM that can allow Make/Model endorsements as well as Special Training (such as the Robinson Helicopter). To further confusion, the US FAR/AIM creates a caveat that can allow Airline Transport Pilots (ATP’s) to fly any category/class of Light Sport Aircraft without instruction resulting in countless accidents & impact to the reputation of our sport. While these Rules, Special Training requirements & Advisory Circulars exist, they have routinely created confusion, safety issues and even opportunities for over-confidence. We would like to take the opportunity to create a safer network & encourage your participation. Please contact us for more info & opportunities. 

IMPORTANT: Don’t be discouraged by ‘training’ or ‘instruction’. We built our curriculum to be fun, meaningful & real. Sure, we have to jump through some hoops, but we’re not here to rack up hours on our way to becoming commercial airline pilots… We believe there’s more to being an instructor than watching the hour meter & cashing checks. We train you to fly the way we know you will… You can expect the training you receive, complimented by your common sense, to be very unique & valuable no matter how many hours you have or don’t have.

RATES CAN VARY with Aircraft Configuration (Skis, Floats & High Performance), Instructor, Location/Transportation, Promotional Events, Aerotrekking Packages. As of April 1st 2008 all aircraft are priced ‘dry’ – fuel is $5 to $7 per gallon at the field. You are welcome to provide your own fuel. $200 per lesson minimum charge. $300 per day minimum charge. Cancellation policies apply (see below). Other than a 3% Fee for Credit Card processing, we don’t charge any other junk fees; but we do reserve the right to charge you double for having a bad attitude or leaving a mess in the hangar…

CANCELLATION POLICY: This is a seasonal business so every flyable morning & evening counts. We also have family & “real job” obligations so your appointment is “by design”… IF (and only if) we find someone to replace your reservation, 100% of your money will be refunded regardless of the policy that follows. In the event that you must cancel or reschedule, you must give us written notice no less than 60 days notice to receive a full refund. Less than 60 days, but more than 30 days notice will yield a 50% refund. No refunds honored with less than 30 days notice of cancellation or rescheduling.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: Who the hell is my instructor & why does he charge as much as my accountant? We have several seasonal instructors that you will start flying with, but Denny himself will typically finish you up. He has over 17 years & 8000+ hours of teaching “in trikes” and another 2000 hours of Aerotrekking, Cinematography, Government Contracts, Floats, Skis, and Advanced Terrain in 7 countries. He’s also a professional engineer as a “real job”. He insists that we’re not necessarily curing cancer here & the training must be fun for both student & instructor to be effective. After all, this is why we pursued the sport, remember? Nobody wants to be nit-picked, scared, or bored to death in this sector of aviation. We’re here to build the best pilots in the country & expand our aerotrekking team, period. We are NOT here to waste your time & money. We also realize that people will likely push themselves and the aircraft to their limits once they graduate, and it only makes sense to create a curriculum that openly admits this – but safety must come first. Advanced training is available with Denny only. Since every pilot has different needs, styles, & demands of the aircraft; we will cater to each student’s needs differently while still incorporating the basics & essentials of safe aviation in trikes. Most people pursue us because they need to be self-reliant when they graduate because there is very little support available on a local scale for most new owners. Flying is the easy part and students need to learn just as much about the equipment as they do about flying it. As a matter of fact, dozens of people show up on our doorstep every year regardless of who they buy their equipment from originally because we know how to help with everything. Denny was one of the 1st Certified Flight Instructors for Trikes in the United States. He has flown for IMAX, Sony Pictures, M.I.T., US Border Patrol, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, and many other projects with narrow margins for error. As a conservative pilot, he looks forward to passing along a level of competency & philosophy in the FUN & Expedition-Quality atmosphere AND equipment that we will continue to be known for. As for the questions pertaining to how we determine hourly rates; we have personally seen helicopter rates at around $300/hr, which is not much more than what we charge; and conventional airplane instruction at half of that. Fair enough. It’s important to consider the Total Cost of certification in our aircraft vs others. Most people spend about $6000. We specialize in concentrated courses & we’re honestly about 15 to 20% MORE expensive than other operations. We do offer aircraft, facilities, experience & concentrated programs exceeding any other operation we know of. From an operations standpoint, our rates are the result of a pretty simple equation consisting of overhead and depreciation divided by annual flyable hours – which can vary with weather etc. At the end of the day, we hope you recognize the value but some people don’t – and we get that. We’re happy to recommend other operations if you need something specific or even for the budget-minded. Or, perhaps you could just call your accountant & ask if he/she ever wears a helmet & ballistic parachute while doing your taxes… Careful though, you might get billed for the phone call.