This event is specifically for women who are 18 years old and above. Male partners are welcome to come with you but they will not be able to participate in the training. They can stay at the terminal building or hotel, or volunteer as cooks, clean up crew, maintenance crew, or flight/ground instructors if they are licensed. If you are under 18 years old, you can only attend if you are accompanied by an attending adult such as a mother or aunt. However, no one under the age of 15 will be considered. Please note that this is not a "fun flying camp" and there are very few entertainment activities available in the area. We are also not staffed to take responsibility for minors during the event. However, we do offer training for younger individuals throughout the year. If you are interested in training outside of the event, please contact us.
What is on the Agenda?
Welcome to our Intensive Ground School program! Our main focus is to help you gain the knowledge and skills necessary to become a better and safer pilot. We want to address any fears or concerns you may have, and we will break down complex concepts into terms you can understand. During the program, we will cover a wide range of topics, including the basics of flight, safety, regulations, weather, weight and balance, aerodynamics, air space, GPS, and more. We will also provide practical knowledge that you can apply to your everyday flying, and help you prepare for the knowledge test and oral and practical tests. We encourage our students to work together as peers, teaching and learning from each other. We will adjust our teaching methods to meet the needs and goals of each student, and we hope that you will leave our academy with not only new knowledge, but also new friendships and a supportive community of fellow pilots. The program runs for seven days, from Sunday to Saturday. We recommend that you arrive on the Saturday before the program starts. Classes and flying lessons will be held from 9am to 5:30pm every day. On the final day, we will wrap up the program by noon and any final payments will be due before departure. Please note that this program is designed for ladies ages 18 and up. Male significant others are welcome to stay in the terminal building, hotel, or volunteer as cooks, clean up crew, maintenance crew, or flight/ground instructors if licensed. If you are younger than 18, you may be considered if accompanied by an attending adult. However, please be aware that this is an intensive learning environment and we are not staffed to take responsibility for minors during the week. If you are interested in training outside of the event, including for significant others and younger students, please contact us for more information.
Costs!
There is no charge for the Instructors. ground school or in flight, during this one week event. You will need to reserve your spot with us. Register here or see our Donations page to purchase your reservation online. We also have an application you can download and mail to us. No reservation will be noted until payment is received. This covers your meal lunch, book, E6B, Plotter and shirt provided at this event. We will refund up until 30 days prior to the event. The fee is non refundable within 30 days of the event. (a refund can still be requested within 30 days of the event, for such as medical events, yours and family, loss of employment, military status changes. employment relocation, etc) Please see our forms above for applications and refunds requests. Associated costs Aircraft - $120 per hour minimum donation (other aircraft may vary in minimum donation) Some attendees may have access to an aircraft they wish to learn to fly, please contact us about those options. plan for least one hour a day, or 2 per day if working on some advanced training. Can not promise the minimum if wx or Maintenance delays occur. can always plan for extra flight time. Books - basic study materials supplied as part of the reservation fee. Other materials and study books may be available for purchase. Hotel - $109 per night before taxes (most women share a room to lower costs)price could different at time of booking but ask for discount. Holiday Inn Express in Vernon is only hotel providing discounted rooms, and must be reserved directly. Meals - Lunch is provided at the event. We do not provide special lunches for special diet plans, but often have some options available to mix in with anything you need to bring and can provide access to microwaves and refrigerators as needed. Please consider your costs of travel, time, and goals. This is only one week and may only fly once or twice a day depending on class size, planes and instructors available.
You will also need a log book if you don't already have one. We will have on hand to sell. Bring a notebook, sticky notes and highlighter. You may use other books and programs, but class instruction will follow the ASA book (provided) when going over questions. Another thing to consider is obtaining your student pilot certificate before arriving. You can start the application online https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/Default.aspx then any flight instructor should be able to take a few minutes with you to finish the approval and in about 2 weeks average a license will be sent to you.... A license and medical are required for solo flying along with logbook endorsements....if having trouble contact one of us directly and maybe we can assist you. You can also wait or finish it here also. https://medxpress.faa.gov/medxpress/ also for obtaining a medical application and confirmation number to take to either a local AME doctor. if have any medical concerns please hold off on the medical until can arrange a consult with an AME or AOPA medical services. We can help answer some limited questions and help direct you to future consults.
Breakfast is usually at the hotel or on your own. We will provide lunch every day. If you have particular allergies or religious dietary requirement to avoid certain foods or ingredients, please let us know so we can least label what foods are what (pork/chicken/ allergies like tomatoes or nuts) and plan to bring some of your own lunch needs also. We will likely have something for most but no one learns well if they are hungry. Supper is also on your own. Sometimes several will go out to eat. Some will choose to cook and eat at the airport. We will have crock pots or there is an oven in the little airport house. (The little airport house is reserved for our volunteers and instructors). There is a Walmart with a grocery section as well United Grocery store for options plus several fast food and few average restaurants for options. Currently no local restaurants offer gluten free options.
The ground school focuses on broad knowledge that you will need to be a safe pilot. We will cover the material you will need for the written test but that is not the only focus. The first few days are spent covering the basic topics. The last few days are more likely to be covering or reviewing specific areas for smaller groups. The flying usually starts at daylight and continues as long as the instructors are willing and the weather cooperates. The classroom starts about 900am and runs till about 5 or 6 PM. Or until everyone's eyes glaze over. It is usually a very interactive process and the topics may shift with questions that link one topic to another.\ Flight times overlap with the classroom so you will miss an hour or two of classroom everyday. It works out though because one of the other ladies will fill you in on what you missed or you can fill in the gaps with an instructor after regular sessions. Also we tend to repeat many lessons.
How Do I Enroll?
Visit our contact page (please answer all the questions.) please click the links to our enrollment. This puts you on our list of possible attendees and payment of the fee confirms your spot. we will send out some forms later after enrolling for gathering information required and agreements etc. We recommend students who don't have the funds to start training to wait and attend this event at a future date when have saved up enough or have a scholarship. We teach the rest of the year though normal instructor rates and fees will apply. Plus we teach the men too rest of the year! Please include your aviation goals, current training, what you would like to gain from attending tour academy and how long you would like to attend. You may also include if wish or willing to share a hotel with another attendee. Due to overwhelming responses of ladies wishing to join us each year we will be limiting the number to approximate of 40 attendees and based more on your information you give us either thru email or the contact page. previous years attendees will need to show progression or next license to be asked back again. Some exceptions may be made (ie: major illness, pregnancy, etc that has prevented progression during past year.) This is not meant to discourage attendees, but to better the experience for the attendees and enable more to accomplish their end goals.
Where to Stay?
We have a block of rooms reserved at the Holiday Inn Express. The GIFT rate is $109 per night. There are usually plenty of ladies who want to share a room. (All the rooms have 2 queen beds) We will share contact information within the class group so individuals can make their own arrangements to share a room. Check out Links under 'where to stay' further down the page. Vernon, Texas offers several options for lodging. Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites 700 Hillcrest Drive Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone (940) 552-0200 - They offer discounts for Gift Academy Inc. Hampton Inn 4131 Western Trail Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone 940.552.2100 Budget Host Inn 715 Wilbarger Street Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone 940-552-2531 Days Inn 3110 Frontage Road Hwy 287 Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone (940) 552-9982 Pecan Grove Bed and Breakfast 1904 Houston Street Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone 940.553.3827 Green Tree Inn 3029 Morton Street Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone 940-552-5421 La Fonda Motel 1004 Wilbarger Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone (940) 553-1533 Old Glory RV Park Phone 940.886.8266 Rocking "A" RV Park 3725 Harrison Vernon, Texas 76384 Phone 940-552-2821 For more information on the City of Vernon please visit the Chamber of Commerce website.
Gift Academy Inc. does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients.
