Scottish Flight School ACS Aviation Highlights 2026 PPL Flight Instructor Sponsorship Program

United Kingdom – ACS Aviation, Scotland's largest flight school based at Perth Airport, will launch a PPL Flight Instructor Sponsorship Programme in September 2026, offering successful applicants company funding toward their Flight Instructor Certificate alongside permanent full-time employment.

• ACS will fund 75% of the Flight Instructor Certificate course for successful applicants, with participants offered permanent full-time positions and structured mentoring and standardisation after selection.
• ACS’s Flight Instructor course comprises a pre-entry assessment, ground tuition and 30 hours of flight training. Its standard eligibility requirements provide pathways for CPL(A) holders and qualifying PPL(A) holders who have completed CPL theoretical knowledge and meet specified flight-experience requirements.
• The academy’s PPL instructors are guaranteed a minimum of 450 flying hours annually.
• ACS has been expanding the infrastructure that sponsored instructors would support. In April 2026, the academy agreed to acquire four additional Tecnam P-Mentor aircraft for €1.3 million, with options for another six valued at €2.1 million; AFM reported that the expansion is planned to take the overall aircraft fleet to 23 by 2027.
• The academy also added a third Diamond DA42 to its fleet during 2026, increasing multi-engine training capacity. Its training fleet includes Cessna 152, Piper PA28-161 Warrior, Tecnam P-Mentor, Piper PA28 Arrow and Diamond DA42 aircraft. 

Source: ACS Aviation (Graeme Frater)