Hillsboro Aero Academy and Aviation Connect Hold Pilot Recruitment Seminar in Bangkok in August 2026

Thailand & USA – Oregon-based flight school Hillsboro Aero Academy (HAA) and aviation education consultancy Aviation Connect held a pilot student recruitment seminar in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 30, 2026, presenting US-based professional pilot training pathways to prospective students and their families. The event continues HAA's student-recruitment activity in Southeast Asia as the academy maintains a training operation serving both domestic and international candidates.

• The August 30, 2026 event was held in Bangkok and included Hillsboro Aero Academy representatives Axel Schmitz and Ashley Souza, who travelled from Oregon to meet prospective pilots and discuss the academy's US training pathways.
• Schmitz serves as HAA's Director of Business Development and has responsibility for customer relationships and partnership development. Souza is Senior Airplane Admissions Representative and Talent Acquisition Manager and has supported more than 1,000 students entering career training during her time with the academy.
• Aviation Connect facilitated the seminar as part of its role connecting aspiring aviation professionals in Asia with international training providers. Its current pilot-training partner portfolio includes Hillsboro Aero Academy for FAA and joint FAA/EASA pathways in the United States.
• Hillsboro Aero Academy currently advertises monthly airplane and helicopter training intakes for international and domestic students, with September and October 2026 starts available across its Oregon campuses.
• The academy's fixed-wing training is conducted at Hillsboro and Redmond, Oregon while helicopter training is at Troutdale.
• For international students, HAA offers FAA professional pilot training as well as a joint FAA/EASA airplane pathway delivered with Austrian training organisation RotorSky. The academy has also promoted its F-1 visa pathway, through which eligible international graduates can pursue flight-instructor employment in the United States to build additional flight experience.
• AFM previously reported that Hillsboro Aero Academy held another Aviation Connect-facilitated seminar in Bangkok in February 2026, including a live session with a Thai student undergoing training at HAA. The academy subsequently visited Rangsit University in Bangkok to discuss international pilot training pathways and its CPL-to-flight-hour-building structure.
• The August event therefore represents a continuation of HAA's direct recruitment activity in Thailand rather than its first engagement in the market during 2026.

About Hillsboro Aero Academy
Hillsboro Aero Academy is an FAA Part 141 professional pilot training provider founded in 1980 and operating airplane training at Hillsboro and Redmond and helicopter training at Troutdale in Oregon. AFM reported in August 2026 that HAA's broader training fleet comprised 102 aircraft — 81 fixed-wing aircraft and 21 helicopters — and that the academy averaged approximately 800 domestic and international students and 85,000 flight hours annually. Its current published airplane-fleet breakdown lists 43 Cessna 152s, 26 Cessna 172s and nine Piper Seminoles, while its helicopter fleet uses Robinson R22 and R44 aircraft.

About Aviation Connect
Aviation Connect is an aviation education consultancy operating through CAN Connect FZ-LLC and connecting students with pilot and aircraft-engineering training providers internationally. The company states that it has more than 35 contracted training-school and university partners and maintains aviation education advisors across Asian markets including Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Seoul and Ho Chi Minh City.

Source: Raffael Helmuth Stangl (Aviation Connect)