Lots happening with the Tropicbird this year….
Celebrating our 24th year of safe and successful operations
- Tropicbird is now set up as an accredited flight training provider for UH Hilo Aeronautical Degree program.This is a game changer and now allows a college student to earn their 4 year BS degree while completing flight training up to the Commercial pilot rating…. all without leaving the Big Island! This makes for most efficient learning, saving plenty of time and finances in the process. https://tropicbirdflightservice.com/training-costs/#college-degree
- Tropicbird will have a brand new FAA approved AATD simulator set up as part of the flight school in July, 2025 (Precision Flight Controls PFC-CR 12) This is another game changer, especially for Instrument students, allowing for up to 20 hours of training to be accredited to their training requirements. Also a real benefit for any instrument pilot to maintain instrument currency or check ride preparation.
- Our senior instructor, Mitch Foley just received a well earned award “Hawaii CFI of the Year 2024 award from our local FAA Flight Standards District Office.We are very proud of Mitch who has been with our team for over 4 years and has over 2,500 total flight hours, most of which has been “instruction given”! He has successfully graduated over 20 students, giving them a great start toward their careers in the air.
- New to our instructor staff, Trek Tanabe, from Hawaii, has joined our team this year. He graduated from UH Hilo’s Aeronautical degree program and finished up his flight training in California. He has made the move to return to Hawaii to help out fellow local students get a start to their flying career while enjoying flight training in his beautiful home state!
- Most recent graduate, May 2025, Darryl Cozzi, just successfully earned his Instrument rating,and is currently preparing for his final stretch toward his Commercial pilot certificate!