Chicago Executive Flight School

A REALLY cool experience. I can’t comment on ongoing lessons, but if you’re looking for an incredible adventure with gifted, patient instructors, you’ve found your place. I worked with Jim Kwasek, the Chief Pilot there, and it couldn’t have been a better experience. I’d read a fair amount of the FAA’s «learn to fly» manual ahead of time for my lesson, and Jim patiently filled in the gaps in my knowledge, on the «fly» ha. He handled himself and the plane very well, and made it a solid experience for a first-​time flier. I’m a safety fanatic (prior military) and he really made me feel comfy from wheels up to wheels down. The GoPro footage & flight audio I picked up afterwards is great to send to friends and family to show them what you did, it’s legit like being in the cockpit with you. I’ll be back to fly with these guys hopefully sooner than later. Thanks guys!

I bought a gift certificate (a 2 hour introductory flight) for my husband. He enjoyed it tremendously and wants to do it again.

What is boils down to is trust, and I certainly trust the folks here. I trust them to be on-​time, to be able to answer my questions, to give me the knowledge I require to become a pilot, and — most of all — to keep me safe. I have about 14 hours of flight time under my belt with Michael at CEFS and I wouldn’t learn to fly anywhere else.
It’s unfortunate that Brad (below) had such a negative experience. I went through the same «taxi lesson» as Brad did and I found it incredibly beneficial. There will be days when you can’t fly for various reasons, but there is never a time when you can’t learn. I’m inherently horrible with directions (I blame my mother…) and the hour-​long taxi lesson not only helped me get more comfortable with the plane and its functions on the ground but it also increased my confidence with navigation at an airport where I spend a lot of time.
I’ve interacted with most of the people at CEFS and find both the staff and students incredibly friendly and helpful. It’s certainly an environment conducive to learning. I echo Lori’s comments (and have met her son) and think that the school consistently goes above and beyond in every day lessons.
In short, don’t hesitate to put a little trust in CEFS. Whatever your goals, you’ll be happy here.

These guys are great to work with. My son, a Senior in high school, started lessons with Chicago Executive last year, and will complete his pilot’s license before starting school with an Aviation and Airport Management major in the Fall. Both the Chief Pilot, Jim Kwasik and my son’s instructor, Michael, have been great to deal with. They have answered all of our questions, been flexible in scheduling, good at communicating any changes due to weather/​other, and just generally very professional. It’s evident that they share the same passion to fly as my son, and have provided opportunities which I consider «above and beyond» for him to meet other pilots, ride along and learn from other students, network with others in the industry, and been very encouraging and helpful. This is not an inexpensive venture, but I think their prices are competitive and with Chicago Executive I feel we have gotten good value for the money we have spent. If you are interested in taking lessons, I would definitely recommend Chicago Executive — they soar!

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Whatever you do, DO NOT give these folks much of your business. The owner has gone through a few locations on the field at PWK and under a few different names — the song remains the same. They prey on the fact you don’t know much about aviation, take you into their program, so their fouled up view (solely to suck out your money) seems like the norm. Biggest example: on foul weather days, when you can’t fly VFR, they have you do «taxi lessons», which basically has you taking instructions from the tower as you ground taxi all over the field. NONE of this nonsense is able to be considered as loggable flight time… but you’ll pay the hourly rate as though it was. Normal flight schools do not engage in such nonsense. Dontcha dig that? For those who may not know much about the flight instruction industry, this is BEYOND DISHONEST to the point it is hysterical. Are you ready to solo? You can’t here unless you buy separate insurance. Reputable flight schools already have this and roll it into their prices (note: not to be confused with a renter’s policy from AOPA or similar). This guy had me on the line for a while. I’m grateful I was set straight. The owner has a national reputation of little games like this. These are two biggies — the smaller ones are not much better but they’re not as glaring. Overall: Avoid!
UPDATE: Jan 2014, I have seen the owner’s comment. I said nothing about feet versus hands in taxiing an aircraft. Funny how nothing was said about the time being non-​loggable — perhaps because what I said was 100% true. This reason alone gives evidence why to avoid this outfit.
While I do carry AOPA renters insurance for my own protection (my homeowners & umbrella provide extra protection as well), NO OTHER flight school will require you to carry insurance to solo an aircraft under a training program. Let the buyer beware…

I am terrified of flying. I cry, I hyperventilate, I heavily medicate. So my husband thought buying me a flying lesson for my birthday was a great idea. He figured, for the reasonable price of $ 170 for a 45-​minute flight with him as a passenger, it would help me get over my fear.
After three rescheduled due to weather, we finally made the 30 –minute drive to the airport in Wheeling. I met my instructor, Scott, who showed us around the office and then took us out to the plane. We performed the pre-​flight safety check and Scott explained that I would be doing 98% of the flying, but he would always have his hands on the controls to assist.
We got in the plane, and I attempted to taxi the plane to the runway, steering using pedals on the floor. Then we prepared for take-​off. I pushed all the buttons and Scott explained that when he said to, I should pull back on the controls to lift off. As we started zooming down the runway, I realized I had no idea what I was doing. How hard do I pull back? Gradually or all at once? When do I stop? I wish I would have gotten a bit more detail on what the heck I was doing before attempting to actually fly!
But we lifted off smoothly, until a big gust of wind came. We tilted sideways and I freaked. I dropped the controls and Scott had to quickly pull us back up. I immediately started to panic and wanted out. But Scott and my husband convinced me to try again. I put my hands on the controls to feel what was happening, but really it was Scott doing all the flying.
We made a few turns, flew over the lake for a bit, and then turned back. As we came in for the landing, I took the controls and did fly the plane for a few minutes, but of course once we landed safely, I regretted that I didn’t do more. I think a little more on-​the-​ground instruction would have been really helpful. I knew the basic idea, press on the left pedal and turn left to go left, but I didn’t know why that worked and I didn’t know the specifics of what to do — how hard to push, when to stop pushing, etc. I think knowing the details might have made me more comfortable and less nervous that if I messed up and pushed too hard or turned too tight, I’d send us crashing to the ground.
But, I made it through. It was my first flight in two years without xanax and I didn’t freak out…too much. I don’t know that it conquered my fears entirely, but I do feel a little better about the big planes now that I’ve survived a small one.
Overall I liked the flight school. The instructor was very nice and reassuring when I freaked out and he didn’t pressure me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with. I just wish that there had been a little more explanation and instruction on the ground so I didn’t feel so much like i was «flying blind» when I was up there.
But the prices are reasonable, and I do plan on taking another lesson, and this time I hope to take the controls more and actually lift the plane off.