Blue Line Aviation — Local services in Wilsons Mills

Career Pilot Program review (starting with PPL)

Thomas was very friendly and helpful when I was researching what they had to offer. He walked me through the steps and answered any questions I had. I started the Career Pilot Program on October 4, 2021 & finished on March 21, 2022.

Once you sign up, they send you your King Schools courses so you can start studying & preparing for your written exams. A few weeks before I started the program, they had already scheduled out my entire Instrument rating timeline. They schedule your check rides for you then the academy managers and CFIs work together to keep you on track to meet those check ride dates. They opened up their new facility while I was attending, and the transition went rather smoothly overall. The building is nice and there's a restaurant on the top floor if you like BBQ.

Their current fleet consists of over 20 DA-40 NGs, 2 DA-42 NGs and 2 Cessna 172s so there's plenty of plane availability and there's more on the way. They are very well maintained and have glass cockpits with the G1000 avionics system + air conditioning as a bonus (if it's operative). Blue Line has their own maintenance team at the airport which is really convenient for the required aircraft inspections. They have a DA-40/42 simulator which will help you learn how to navigate the G1000 and familiarize yourself with the cockpit. It was a huge help when learning instrument flying.

You will be assigned one primary flight instructor for whatever part of the program you are in & occasionally fly with other CFIs. My flight instructors were great and made sure to hold me to high standards which made the check rides a little less stressful. Make sure you show up early before your lessons to preflight and get your weather briefing and they will do everything they can to help you succeed. There's also 1 hour group ground lessons 3 days a week, each day covers a specific subject. These aren't necessarily mandatory to attend but they do help a ton even if you're already familiar with the topic. If a flight gets cancelled due to weather your instructor will probably schedule a ground lesson with you or a simulator lesson if available.

As for the housing, it's about what you might expect. It is really cheap compared to other housing options in the area, but you'll have little privacy as the bedrooms are shared & kind of cramped. The apartments we ended up in were well maintained and it's about a 15 min. drive to the airport. It is nice to have people to study with & you'll probably have roommates that are farther along in the program that can help you out.

The program is really fast, and I highly recommend you complete all of your written exams before starting the program. At the bare minimum make sure you complete the King Schools online courses before starting. You will have to study almost non-stop when you aren't flying if you want to finish during the timeframe they advertise. It is possible if you stay on top of things and pass most/all of your check rides on the first try. The last 4-6 weeks of the program go by insanely fast & it was pretty stressful consisting of the CFI, CFII, CMEL & MEI ratings. It might not be a bad idea to take a lesson or two from a local school before you commit just to make sure you want to be in such a fast-paced program.

My overall experience with Blue Line was great, especially the quality of training I received. I debated between multiple schools for months before deciding to go with them and I don't regret my choice. They had the structured scheduling that I was looking for, the instruction was excellent, and there was plenty of examiner availability. A lot of the students and instructors I met are great people and I will probably remember them for the rest of my life. If you're serious about pursuing flight training and you can focus all of your time on it for 6 months, then I recommend Blue Line. It's not an easy program but it is very rewarding, and I left as a safe, competent, and...

I had a very bad experience with Blue Line Aviation, and I feel it’s important to warn other international students before they make the same mistake I did.

When you’re applying and sending money, they will call you constantly, follow up, and say all the right things to make you feel confident. But once you’re here and need support, everything changes. You’re left alone to deal with problems, confusion, and in my case — complete abandonment.

I was made to wait over 10 days without flying or proper updates. During this time, they charged me full housing fees for July, and then shortly after, they terminated me from the program — with no warning and no second chance, even though I had asked for one. Worst of all, they told me to vacate student housing the same day, fully knowing that I’m an international student from India with no local support or connections in the U.S.

THIS IS REPLY FOR OWNER:::::::::::

I appreciate your response, but I must respectfully disagree with how you’ve portrayed the situation.

Yes, I took a brief break due to a personal matter — something I communicated clearly and was transparent about. It’s important to note that I returned with the full intention of continuing and completing the program. The issue was not the break — it was the lack of structured support, clarity, and true instructional feedback upon my return.

While you mention I had multiple attempts, quantity does not equal quality. The evaluations and feedback I received were not consistent or accompanied by personalized training to help me succeed. At no point did I feel there was a collaborative plan focused on helping me improve or adapt — just repeated assessments without clear instruction on how to meet expectations.

The “last chances” you refer to were not offered with any new resources or instruction — just more chances to be judged, not taught. And when I reached out to ask for one final opportunity with specific support, I was denied.

Regarding housing, I was asked to leave on the same day as my termination, despite being in a foreign country, with no support system in the U.S., and after paying for housing for the full month of July. That action alone shows a lack of empathy and consideration, no matter how it is framed.

As for the refund, I have yet to receive any communication or amount returned, and no one reached out proactively about what would happen next until I began raising concerns.

Let’s be honest: I came as an international student with trust and high hopes. I was told that “if you can’t fly, it’s our job to teach you.” In the end, I was made to feel like the failure was all mine, without the consistent instructional support I was promised.

I am not questioning your standards — only the way I was treated during and after the process. It was not just disappointing — it was devastating.

I’m sharing this for the benefit of other international students considering joining your program. This experience should be part of the...

Career Pilot Program, completed October 2020

I had been in touch with the school for more than 5 months, prior to my start date. Tabor was my point of contact for all information surrounding enrollment, finances, housing, especially day-to-day life in Raleigh (she knows where to get a good bowl of pho). The dispatch and scheduling crew do a really good job at building out your schedule- I didn’t have to wait for planes, and could easily communicate my needs. The program managers, and upper management: Josh, Ray, and Lance would periodically check-in and gauge my progression throughout the program. This kept me on track, and focused on moving forward. I was frequently asked for feedback about my experiences and often saw some adjustments implemented in my time there. Carrie, Cindy, Sierra, and Thomas are other personable staff members who are great to make small take with on your study breaks- be sure to take your study breaks, lol. I felt the administrative team at Blue Line are really there to see you succeed.

At some point in my training, I’ve interacted with all the instructors during ground/ flight/ sim training. Their experience ranged from recent program graduates to airline pilots with thousands of hours. It was great to learn from different teaching styles, and different experience levels. Ryan, Stu, and Jackson were my primary flight instructors in my single-engine/ CFI/ multi-engine phases of training. These guys were instrumental to my success in completing the program. There were many opportunities and flexibility to fly with other instructors, this definitely helped with increasing my knowledge base- super valuable. Overall, this team of instructors are a great bunch to learn from, I felt lucky to train with them.

New planes- so lucky to fly in new planes!! Starting from zero time, I didn’t know how good I had it. If you needed another reason to come here: this. is. it. I flew in new C172, DA40, and of course, the icing on the cake was flying the DA42 for my multi-engine training. There were periods where I had some amazing, personalized training. Some of those flights, I know I'll always carry with me. I'm told all pilots have them. I, along with majority of the other students were from out of town. From the CEO to the newest CFI, in my interactions with everyone, I felt welcomed, valued, and felt like I belonged there.

Blue Line Aviation checks all the boxes, I highly recommend...