Flight Training - June 2023 - 45

National Best Flight School/Central Southwest Region
In the Pattern, Denton and Granbury, Texas
'It's all about
the experience'
S
herman Gardner, managing
partner at In the Pattern
Flight School, is forthright
about how his flight school
stands out from the Part 61 crowd:
" People spend a lot of money to do this.
I want them to feel as good as they can
about dropping so much coin. "
That philosophy has propelled In
the Pattern from what was intended
to be an aircraft renting and brokerage
business founded in 2019 to a full-service
flight school with locations in
Denton and Granbury, Texas. In the
Pattern was named the national best
flight school in the 2021-2022 Flight
Training Experience Awards, and the
school has again won the top honor for
2023-2024, but nobody is resting on
laurels around here.
The two locations operate with 25
airplanes and 37 employees, including
five full-time airframe and powerplant
mechanics who keep the fleet going
at full throttle. In the Pattern pilots
logged 12,000 hours in 2022, and Gardner
expects the business to do about 50
percent more this year.
It's not about volume. Gardner
said he won't hesitate to counsel
prospective pilots not to commit to
training until they know that flying
is right for them. Better to take five
hours of flight lessons and be sure.
" I treat your time and money as if it
were my own, " Gardner said.
With the rolling cadence of a
former pastor (which he is), Gardner
said it's a privilege to be a part of
customers' lives as they get involved
in flying, and he wants his flight
instructors to remember that. He
counsels them to " find out about [the
customers]. Find out who they are,
what do they do, why did they choose
us? Find some common ground. " He's
cognizant of the disconnect older
student pilots sometimes experience
when training with young flight
instructors, and he says this intentional
approach not only improves
the flight training experience for the
customer, it also helps the young CFIs
to develop and improve their interpersonal
and teaching skills. Indeed,
client comments about In the Pattern
reference the fact that its roster of
flight instructors are not simply " time
builders, " but are supportive and dedicated
to their students' success.
Gardner's goal is to make In the
Pattern a " one stop shop " for all kinds
of flight training, including training
for those who aspire to fly with the
airlines. In addition to private, instrument,
commercial, and multiengine
programs, the flight school offers
two- and four-week CFI academies
and has recently added airline transport
pilot certificate training to its
menu. The flight school has also partnered
with the local school district's
career and technical education program
to offer flight training for high
school students. " We aim to meet you
wherever you are, " Gardner said.
jill.tallman@aopa.org
FLIGHT TRAINING JUNE 2023
45
CHRIS ROSE
Flight Training - June 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2023
