Testimonials
We greatly appreciate the trust our clients have placed in us. Here’s what they have to say about our services.
Just a quick follow-up email to thank you, Mike, for a very informative and extremely well-delivered FIRC. As I said in my course evaluation, I was initially hesitant given the horror stories out there for Zoom meetings. You and your team made it an extremely enjoyable two days. My Masters degree is in Adult Education and the course easily passed every checkmark for well-designed and delivered learning. It was an absolute pleasure to see technology being harnessed so effectively. As always, Aviation Solutions support to the students was first-class before, during and after the course.
Brian Douglas
This was the best FIRC that I have ever participated in in 40+ years of instructing. Aviation Solutions’ experience and expertise really showed [when delivering the virtual course] – this would have been extremely difficult if they hadn’t done so many in-person classes before. Timely and interesting topics, excellent presenters, great participation opportunities that involved everyone – fantastic job! I will be recommending you.
Lenora Crane
I have taken away much more from the refresher course than the previous 4 renewals by flight test combined. To be honest, I was worried about watching the course instructors read PowerPoint slides for 2 days. But it was a great job at keeping the students engaged by utilizing the technology! I thought the use of Zoom, presentation slides, breakout rooms, chat, surveys and reaction buttons was fantastic!
Scott Campbell
I attended your Class 2 Upgrade course and wanted to let you know that I just completed my upgrade ride. Your course, and supporting materials, were instrumental in ensuring that I was thoroughly prepared to pass my test. The course provided tremendous insights into the role of the CFI, as well as the additional responsibilities of a supervising instructor. I would strongly recommend this course to anyone considering a Class 2 instructor upgrade/renewal flight test. Thank you kindly for putting together a great course.
Carmine Forgione
I found the pre-course work really helpful to get back into the regulatory material – especially for reviewing the different CARs sections. The questions were fair and gave me a better background of what I need to review before walking into the course. Thanks for the preparation material and the instant feedback. As usual, the course itself was fantastic – well presented and helpful for everything that is to come with new responsibilities. I appreciate your expertise and how thorough the material was, thank you!
Lukas Kusiak
Thank you once more for the day yesterday. It was everything I was looking for in getting me started down the road towards the Class 1. You imparted lots of information in your own inimitable way, clearly and effectively.
Michael Bloss
The e-Fresher was so fantastic, encouraging, and made me study and review materials that all really refreshed my knowledge. One of the nice elements of it, besides others, were the provided videos which were absolutely fantastic. I love the one regarding turbine engines. I can barely say how much I learned from that short video, that I did not get after four hours of sim for the type rating I attended, due to the inadequate information on that other course! Thank you so much for the opportunity provided to us to renew our instructor ratings during Covid-19.
FIRC Participant
I couldn’t have imagined a more thorough and complete refresher course. Not only did the familiar become more deeply informed, but also the areas I hadn’t had much fluency with came well reinforced. It was a balanced time of group work, workshop style discussion, and also community building with others in the profession. Above all it was an approachable style where everyone’s unique input was valued and worked with.
I have had no hesitation recommending Aviation Solutions to others for their instructor renewals. Credit to you for your expertise in facilitating this so successfully!
Bill Crosby
I felt very comfortable in this learning environment; I never got the feeling that there were ‘dumb questions’
FIRC Participant
I haven’t been to a workshop or conference that had such better suited and well prepared presenters. Everything was broken down and clearly explained.
FIRC Participant
The course went above and beyond my expectations and covered quality content. In my perspective, everything was useful, and I thank everybody for the high quality of this course. I was very satisfied.
FIRC Participant
I wanted to take the time to reach out and thank you for the FIRC that you and the team at Aviation Solutions put on last week. As a Class 4 with no instructing experience, you made me feel very comfortable and gave me a fantastic opportunity to learn from both the instructors and the other Flight Instructors who were partaking in the course. The information that was presented was invaluable and I know that in the coming months when I start instructing, I will be able to use that added knowledge to become the best instructor I can be. I am already looking forward to the next FIRC that I do through Aviation Solutions. Still on cloud nine in regards to how much I enjoyed that!
Dave Angus
I just wanted to thank you for the great presentation and wealth of reference material. You always go above and beyond my expectations. On the other hand, it is never overwhelming. Your presentation techniques are perfect!
Alex Ruiz
Although I enjoy flight tests, I always feel like I get a lot more out of your refresher courses. Between the content, presenters, and group discussion, it is really a great forum for the heartbeat of the industry and there are a lot of takeaways at the end.
Dave Kalistchuk
I have worked as a professional educator in one capacity or another for 15 years. I was very impressed with the skills and knowledge of all your presenters and know that many people will benefit from your hard work and high standards.
Alexis Kolar
In my 20 years of instructing, this was the first refresher course I ever attended. I will be back for my next one as well. It was very well done and a great review. Bob and I debated several points so it allowed us to each have a great understanding of new or updated regs. There are always slight twists and turns. Great Job!
Chris Walsh
The course had much better info for me as an instructor than the one I was to, years ago, offered by Transport Canada. You have a great teaching style and I can see why you have come so far along in the industry so fast.
Tim Winger
I found the course is very informative. I’ve been with my flight school for a long time and getting very comfortable with the detailed, sometimes sophistic, well-trimmed operational system. The refresher course serves as a good reminder of the vast, variable outside world. I will certainly recommend the course to my colleagues.
Anna Luo
Honestly, as far as online courses go this was amazing. A lot more practical in terms of learning from lots of other instructors compared to simply re-doing a flight test and all the stress that can come with that.
FIRC Participant
I really enjoyed the online portion. Having not utilized my instructor rating much the past year, I found it to be very beneficial. The content provided was very interesting and informative. Having taken other online refreshers, I was expecting a boring, cookie cutter and drawn out presentation. I was pleasantly surprised. Your course was very engaging, and not only was it an excellent review but I felt like I learned a lot as well. It has made me very excited for the 2 day course next week!
Kevin Welsh
The course gave me a drive to be better and to study more. Also being surrounded by people with more skill gives motivation to be better. I learned lots about my job and am actually blown away that it wasn’t in the original Class 4 instructor course I did. Good integration of the digital info. It was necessary for your team to work together, and they did! They did a great job, thanks for a valuable course.
FIRC Participant
I knew it would be an interesting and challenging course, but you exceeded my expectations. The course was interactive with a variety of topics not addressed in general training. My only regret is that it’ll be 4 years before I’m “forced” to take the course again. I appreciate you and your team’s efforts to go above and beyond.
Samad Kadri
The course went above and beyond my expectations and covered quality content. In my perspective, everything was useful, and I thank everybody for the high quality of this course. I was very satisfied.
FIRC Participant
I felt that the presenters were very knowledgeable and the content was presented in a smooth way. The course was very well made and I appreciated interacting with instructors from all across Canada, not just those who may be in my region attending a local course. I thought it was excellent, and hope to see this provided in the future, post-COVID. I would happily take this online course again with Aviation Solutions; as opposed to taking a local course in my area, based on how impressed I was with the quality of the presenters and information.
FIRC Participant
This course was very successful in giving me a thorough review, as well as new and useful material. The material covered a wide range of topics and was easily digestible. I would highly recommend taking this course. I have learned a lot of new information that had never been presented to me before. I feel any instructor of various experience levels would benefit in taking this course. Thank you to all involved for the hard work you have done in putting this course together!
FIRC Participant
The staff was very friendly, professional and willing to help. Awesome course content as it was very useful and insightful. I really enjoyed the TEM presentation, as well as everything from Mike… very gifted teacher – understandable, patient, professional. I can tell how much work you folks put into making the course as successful as it is. You really have had a way of being encouraging, inspiring and motivational.
FIRC Participant
I love in-person conferences, but I’m thoroughly impressed at how the team at Aviation Solutions and the presenters put this course together! You have made excellent use of the Zoom platform. You’ve got several people making sure that all runs smoothly. The producer in the background is invaluable! The team that helped lead us through the break-out sessions were super helpful! I’ve learned a lot, especially about the use of technology from this course. Well done!
FIRC Participant
This was a very educational and entertaining course, much better than a FIRC I had with another company 2 years ago!
FIRC Participant
I’m very impressed by the quality of this training. I didn’t expect something as good as this. When subscribing to this course, I didn’t realise how many elements I would be reviewing to be a better instructor. Most of the elements I reviewed and learned within last days with your team, can be used in PPL, CPL and other places like 700 ops. You gave us a lot of ideas. I’ve also seen a lot of training online within the last years, but I’ve never seen such a dynamic and interactive course as this, using all the tools available. I’ve never seen an online presentation as good a this. I'm also very impressed by the quality of the instructors. We strongly see that everyone is mastering perfectly their subjects and are good speakers in front of a class (even online, which is harder and you guys look to have a lot of fun doing it, that is reflected in the quality).
FIRC Participant
Thank you to all the staff that took the countless hours to not only put together this program but also
that teach it. Each one of you brought new ideas and interesting takes to your topics. It was extremely interactive and far surpassed my thoughts on what the course was or could be. Being able to break out into groups and discuss topics while also coming back to the full group to review findings was something that no other course I have taken had done. 10/10 would recommend this course to others!
FIRC Participant
Awesome course! Sending all of my flight school instructors to you for renewal.
FIRC Participant
I found this program to be amazing in the fact that (for the purposes of a Class I renewal) I actually took something away from this program instead of just being given the opportunity to show I still know how to instruct during a flight test. All topics and concepts were relevant as the industry is today and I took a way a lot of information on how I can be a better pilot, instructor and business man. Thank you so very much! Initially I felt the cost to be a little pricey, however after completing the course and getting information from instructors with a wide variety of experience and lessons to draw off of, I don't think the cost was high enough!
FIRC Participant
The course was very well put together and exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the breakout rooms and getting a chance to learn from other instructors’ points of view. Really enjoyed the emphasis on Threat & Error Management now incorporated into flight training as well. The course was extremely well structured and included a wealth of very valuable information and material for instructors to succeed at helping others learn. All the topics covered are everyday encounters we as instructors face. The material will be very valuable going forward, not to mention the abundance of reading material. Great job!
FIRC Participant
This program was extremely informative, well put together, and above all, thought
provoking. I have learned more in 2 days about how I can become a better instructor for my Class 4 candidates and students in 2 days than I believe I have in 11 years of instructing. I'll certainly be coming back for the next renewal, maybe even before that for a brush up. Thank you!
FIRC Participant
What I found most useful about the course was how interactive the course presenters made it. Mike, Brett, and Nick never let the class energy decrease, they allowed people to comment and pitch in their opinions as well as answered everyone’s questions!
FIRC Participant
Thank you so much for all your efforts to provide such a complete, nice, and useful online pre-course training. The videos and teaching points are so useful and remind me of every single important point which may have been forgotten over the years. The materials were coherent and concise and right to the point. Frankly, I really enjoyed it. I should mention that the cooperation and assistance of Mike was fantastic and exemplary, as I have a lot going on right now, and he helped me manage it. Looking forward to attending the online conference!
FIRC Participant
The course was very well put together and exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the breakout rooms and getting a chance to learn from other instructors’ points of view. Really enjoyed the emphasis on Threat & Error Management now incorporated into flight training as well. The course was extremely well structured and included a wealth of very valuable information and material for instructors to succeed at helping others learn. All the topics covered are everyday encounters we as instructors face. The material will be very valuable going forward, not to mention the abundance of reading material. Great job!
FIRC Participant
I picked up on a lot of great ideas to implement in the training plans for my students and what to avoid, above what I thought I already knew when I was getting my instructor rating. From SBT, to briefings, and assessment methods, each of these modules had great “ah-ha” moments that I will take forward. I really appreciate how patient all the presenters were with our questions, and how they were so welcoming to all instructors whether they were a class one or a class four. It was beyond my expectations!
FIRC Participant
This was probably the most well laid out, organized and exceptionally easy to understand course I’ve taken in our industry. Very well done. Excellent instructors, incredible organization and very intuitively delivered. There was both review material, and new material. But the new material was never so overwhelming that it was like drinking from a fire hose.
FIRC Participant
I have been an instructor for 29 years and over the last 2 days I have learned lots of new stuff. When you are the CFI of a small school, nobody challenges me, the Class 1 instructor. The level of experience of all the instructors, especially Mike, was amazing. Thanks, I will be back in 4 years.
FIRC Participant
The presenters “know their stuff” and are very friendly to answer our questions in a good manner. I feel that one walks away with more tools to utilize as an instructor and more knowledge gained as opposed to just taking a renewal flight test. This is definitely the better way in growing in your knowledge and abilities to apply as an instructor.
FIRC Participant
The interactive exercises were very useful. I thought my lack of training experience would make it pointless and I wouldn't have much to add. But in reality, I enjoyed it and I benefited from it especially the role-play debriefing. It was very informative, the instructors were very organised and it exceeded my expectations - Thank you so much! You made this a great experience
FIRC Participant
I would like to thank all the presenters for their contributions. Very professional, but in a laid back and non-stuffy atmosphere. It is a very well-polished product that touches upon all the things that I feel are the most important and relevant to people in the industry.
FIRC Participant
I was nervous at first for sure, thought it would be some finger pointing and rapid fire questions but it was extremely well done with getting everyone’s participation without pointing a spotlight at anyone. I would and will be recommending this course to peers. Thank you for providing a way to renew my rating in a time where I thought for sure I would lose it!
FIRC Participant
This was my second time renewing via refresher course, the last time was with a different company. I found your course and the information you provided much more useful than my other experience.
FIRC Participant
I wish I were surrounded by this much passion for training at my FTU. The course was very educational, informational, and had great recommendations to improve.
FIRC Participant
I think I got way more out of this course than I would have from doing a flight test. The flight test would have been mostly confirming knowledge that I already have and gaining some very select personally biased information from a specific examiner. I think this course should be mandatory for all instructors. And also, Mike thank-you for putting on such a professional course, especially compared to the dumpster fire that is one of the “other” providers. I loved the course, I can tell you really care Mike.
FIRC Participant
When working with the same instructors all the time, I don’t think I necessarily question many of the behaviors and assumptions that get made because that’s just ‘how things are done’ or attitudes that might be part of the culture of the flying club that I train at. Hearing perspectives from outside that bubble, particularly on things that are often more in the grey areas (best practices, rules interpretations etc) can lead to a healthier thought process. I think this was a valuable experience. Thanks! You’ll be seeing me again.
FIRC Participant
Aviation Solutions is doing an outstanding job of relaying information from statistics, regulators, and oversight professionals onto the masses of training, where it often goes missed. I am overwhelmingly pleased with the shared knowledge. This is a great, comprehensive enhancement to our training professionals and leaders. Keep up the awesome work. Thank you for all you do for our industry. I’ll certainly be coming back again!
FIRC Participant
I love in-person conferences, but I’m thoroughly impressed at how the team at Aviation Solutions and the presenters put this course together! You have made excellent use of the Zoom platform. You’ve got several people making sure that all runs smoothly. The producer in the background is invaluable! The team that helped lead us through the break-out sessions were super helpful! I’ve learned a lot, especially about the use of technology from this course. Well done!
FIRC Participant
I have taken away much more from the refresher course than the previous 4 renewals by flight test combined. Reminder to go “back to the basics” of the Instructor Course. Great reminder of the resources available to flight instructors and that those resources will help make me a better instructor and students better pilots. To be honest, I was worried about watching the course instructors read PowerPoint slides for 2 days. But it was a great job at keeping the students engaged by utilizing the technology! I thought the use of Zoom, presentation slides, breakout rooms, chat, surveys and reactions buttons was fantastic!
FIRC Participant
I have taken this course three times and I have learned new things from the instructors, fellow students and guest speakers every time that I would not get out of a flight test.
FIRC Participant
The course covered a wealth of information and a lot of items I was not expecting – it was a very pleasant surprise. Great instructors and worth every penny. Keep up the good work.
FIRC Participant
I would recommend this course to others because the course is very informative with up to date instructing practices, and is very interactive with the open conversations and group assignments. It encourages thinking, discussion and gives you a large variety of perspectives in a short period of time. All of the presenters have always been very nice, helpful and friendly.
FIRC Participant
The provided information was very useful. It made you think and engaged you. It was efficient, and we got to interact with well-experienced presenters. I found the materials current and updated. All the participants were being taken care of during the sessions. If they had connection issues or the like, the host helped them rapidly. All and all it shows how responsible and professional you guys are.
FIRC Participant
I’d like to start with saying the staff and the instructors were absolutely some of the best teachers I've had. The modules were excellent as well and I learned a lot of new material. The reference package provided is going to forever be used by myself to verify the information. There is so much useful information in there that I was a little surprised at the quality. Thank you for the course!
FIRC Participant
The class was amazing, you can tell the people teaching really enjoy what they are doing and that attitude makes the class so much better. It was a very well run course. Zoom integration was flawless. Nicely done!
FIRC Participant
Effective and hassle free! Great information. Refresher courses shouldn’t be one option to renew, they should be mandatory. Far more relevant to development of instructing skill than a flight test or paper renewal.
FIRC Participant
This was my second FIRC from a different provider. I found your online more interactive than the other company’s in-person.
FIRC Participant
I found the course to be very insightful and all the presenters very knowledgeable. The topics we covered were very relevant and extremely useful. This course was helpful in refreshing me and getting me back into the mindset of an instructor [as I return to instructing]. Thank you for the fantastic course! The work the presenters put into moving this course online was evident!
FIRC Participant
I thought you guys did a very good job. You were always upbeat and performed well considering we all have to deal with this covid situation. You guys were patient and helpful. I will definitely recommend this to other instructors just as my CFI recommended this course to me! Keep up the good work! It’s cool to talk to pilots from across Canada.
FIRC Participant
I’m so impressed with how you handled and delivered the course. These reference materials are definitely going to be my weekend reads. Coming in with little to no expectations, I can say that I’m really surprised how much I’ve learned. You guys made me a better instructor. I can see how my students will benefit from this as well. I will see you again in the future!
FIRC Participant
This was a very impressively streamlined online experience and on-time-performance was astounding. I found the virtual conference worked really well and actually enabled me to be more effective and participate more than in a conference room, as I had my wide array of resources available and was in a comfortable environment. I learned a lot from this course, more so than I would have doing a flight test.
FIRC Participant
Thanks for the numerous links to videos and AvSol blog posts. They will be very helpful. I wish I had seen it prior to starting freelancing. It would have saved me much time from having to compile info from various TC sources to ensure I wasn't running afoul of the CARs. I enjoyed the segmented nature of each 10-question page, but which remained cohesively themed, and the references provided at the beginning to help me find answers.
FIRC Participant
The best course out there.
Andy Turcotte
Very knowledgeable staff and a great learning environment.
Clayton Brander
The organization and thought that has been put into this course is great. Mike and the team have clearly thought about virtually every facet. The interaction was fantastic and made a 2 day virtual course go by very quickly. I have done two renewal courses with two different organizations and this one was FAR better. I learned a lot more in this virtual course, than the in-person course I did elsewhere. I'll be back.
Clark Morawetz
Thank you, and great job by all the presenters. The group exercises were very instructional and allowed for great professional development. The pre-course training was also very thorough and allowed for a comprehensive review of areas that we don't necessarily visit on a regular basis. Highly recommended and when compared to similar courses offered by other service providers, this one is the best by far.
Simon Pinsonneault
I really enjoyed the knowledge of the instructors and the breakout sessions. As a Class 1 and PE it was great to see the participation from the class 3 and 4 instructors. This is a great opportunity to speak openly and honestly about trends and concerns in our industry. Great course, I'll see you in 4 years!
Matt Neumann
The fact that this course is a very open conversational process makes it most efficient and therefore useful. I have learned a lot more as an instructor and a pilot but more crucially I have learned how much I don't know which is very motivating.
FIRC Participant
I got a lot from not just reviewing flight test standards, but incorporating scenario based training and threat management, and suggestions on how to incorporate PDM and getting students to decide rather than being told what to do. Use of the PE Manual was something new to me but makes total sense. Getting into groups with different instructors across the country was good and the stats regarding weak performance and skills was also very interesting... giving us tools to appropriately focus our training. The supervision section also gives me some ideas and ways to work in our operation of changing the culture in a positive way. Your resource packages will keep me reading for a while!...which is good... keep the brain thinking and not getting stagnant. Thanks a LOT!! Excellent course and well worth it and great presenters.
Randy Kerney
I would recommend this course because:
1. Excellent instructors and presenters
2. Material and info detailed and relevant
3. Interaction with other people across the country
4. It has gotten me to know where resources can be found; and has me reading them.
FIRC Participant
Your virtual course was clearly better than the local in-person refresher available in our region (Pacific).
FIRC Participant
I am happy that there's extra (useful!) context and additional information to cater to a variety of levels of experience, and information to help "spice up" or "round out" our instructional perspectives. Heartfelt thank you, Mike, Nick, Scott, Brett! Happy to see you all again in the future!
FIRC Participant
For myself, I have done almost all of my flight training with the same school and I wanted to take this course in order to hear outside opinions and experiences outside of what I am used to. For that same reason, I would recommend it to others looking to expand their knowledge beyond their "inbred" perspectives.
FIRC Participant
Yes, I would recommend this course! It was a very eye-opening seminar. Well laid out. The whole experience was very fun and informative.
FIRC Participant
I would 100% recommend this course because of it’s great content. I love learning from people with a lot of experience in the aviation industry, like Brett and Mike. They brought so many useful points that will help me in my career.
Joseph Forte
Excellent Course. Highly recommend and thank you to everyone involved. Outstanding value!
Steve Hunter
Great course! All of the instructors, Mike, Scott, Nicholas, and Brett all are amazing.
Pavneet Mann
Fantastic course, I think I enjoy it more each time I attend. The online option was very appreciated and it was very well conducted. The break out groups and full group discussions were productive. I find the course is more beneficial than doing a flight test - a flight test can demo how you teach, but this course is so interactive and getting into the books, review, discussions, etc, I find it really helps with increasing instruction skills. It is evident of the hard work, dedication and passion Mike and his team put in this course. The delivery of online is very interactive and well thought out. The audio and videos were very clear and informative. Great job and I hope to see you again in 4 years!
Laurie Mahar
The course staff have both the knowledge and practical experience. Their enthusiasm and care to facilitate learning was extremely helpful. They incorporated new and relevant information and used all of the instructional techniques well. The small things really improve the quality of the course and add value. The staff were regularly checking the temperature and volume in the back of the classroom, they stayed on schedule, had everything pre-planned, and provided great resource material. The course is a great value.
Tyson Phillips
I haven’t used my rating in 5 years, I found this course extremely helpful when it came to refreshing my knowledge as well as learning the new industry techniques! I am very impressed (and much more in the know now) with how much the instructional world has developed. I really enjoyed the sections on TEM, SBT, and especially the weak performance areas.
Zach MacKenzie
Great instructors, who are very inclusive and knowledgeable. Very useful and interesting content and great dynamics with the other instructors attending. Very impressive pre-course assignment and helpful pre-course information.
Dave Holland
We have a few dozen more, but you get the idea.
We look forward to earning your comments to add to this page.