Archives: Market Intelligences

Florida, USA – Paragon Flight Training, an award-winning flight training academy based at Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida, with additional locations in Punta Gorda, Florida, and LaGrange, Georgia, is beginning the celebration of its 20th anniversary a bit early, taking delivery of its 37th and 38th Piper P100i aircraft on December 16 and completing the third year of a strategic five-year fleet acquisition plan totaling 50 Piper aircraft. Paragon Flight Training President Chris Schoensee took the milestone anniversary as an opportunity to discuss how its fleet acquisition plans grew and helped drive the company to market leadership.

“Ten years ago, our school was growing quickly, but we realized future success would hinge on owning – not leasing – our aircraft; so, while we owned a few planes then, we shifted our mindset and business strategy toward fleet modernization and expansion,” Schoensee said. “Now, with a fleet of 38 aircraft – and counting – comprised exclusively of Piper training aircraft, plus the leading ALSIM training simulators to complement them, we’re heading into our 20th year with strength.”

Historically, it was unusual for flight training academies to own their fleets, but for Paragon Flight Training, bucking the trend is the norm. Kevin Schoensee, Chris’s father, founded the company in 2006 after he experienced poor customer service while getting his recreational pilot’s license. He believed he could improve on it – so started his own school from scratch.  The elder Schoensee’s decision coincided with an emerging, and revolutionary era in the flight training industry, with the recent introduction of Garmin’s G1000, an integrated flight display system that transformed avionics technology into the digital age. Kevin Schoensee, a career-long entrepreneur and lifelong risk taker with no experience in running a flight school, purchased three planes equipped with the Garmin technology – and Paragon Flight Training took off.

In tandem with advanced technology was the industry’s advent of professional management, operational efficiencies and customer service programs based on best practices – and Paragon Flight was determined to lead the pack in all categories. In the earliest days of the company, most flight schools were run by ‘mom and pop’ shops or professional pilots, often in their spare time, with minimal focus on infrastructure, strategy or the customer’s experience.

Chris Schoensee and his wife Sarah Shoensee, Administrative Director and Jeff Wolf, Chief Flight Instructor, joined the organization in 2009. The Schoensees, transplants from Michigan and new to flight training, worked in entry level capacities to learn the ropes and keep the fledgling enterprise going to the point where Kevin Schoensee, ready to move on to other entrepreneurial ventures, offered to sell them the school in 2010. Wolf, a South Florida native, came on as the third owner at the same time. The rest is part of a 20-year history that is Paragon Flight, which has grown 20% every year since the school’s founding, along with its reputation as one of the top flight training schools in the country. While continued growth is always top of mind, at this juncture, Chris Schoensee sees 2026 primarily as a period of fine tuning.

“We’ve been moving at warp speed for years, yet we follow a very disciplined approach,” Schoensee said. “To further enhance our position in the marketplace as the go-to flight school for optimal training and student experience, Paragon Flight Training is going to spend some time at cruising altitude, diving in deeply to improve upon our strengths to make the school the best it’s ever been,” Schoensee said.

About Paragon Flight Training
Paragon Flight is an award-winning flight school headquartered at Page Field in Fort Myers, Florida. Holding FAA and SEVIS accreditations, the company trains commercial, professional, and recreational pilots as well as offering military pilot training for domestic and foreign governments. With multiple locations in Florida and Georgia, Paragon Flight now has more than 34,000 square feet of training facilities in the Southeastern United States.

Source: Paragon Flight Training
Photo Credit: Paragon Flight Training