Pilotsmith Flight Academy Partners with NWTC as Enrollment and Pilot Demands Surge

GREEN BAY – Pilotsmith Flight Academy has recently announced a partnership with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) to offer free prep classes for the private pilot written test.

The leading flight training program has been headquartered at Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) for ten years, with Pilotsmith accounting for half of the landings and takeoffs at GRB, according to Airport Director Marty Piette.

Pilotsmith CEO Charlie Smith said, “We chose GRB as our headquarters because it offers the perfect combination of controlled, modern facilities and access to commercial operations — providing our students with real-world flying experience in a dynamic environment.”

Smith also discussed the necessity of more student pilots, quoting Boeing’s 2025 Pilot and Technician Outlook, which says that the aviation industry would need 660,000 new pilots by the year 2044; he added “[s]o we have to make up [for] that shortcoming...A lot of the current pilot population are aging out.”

The academy’s staff growth has close to doubled in the past two to three years and has a modern fleet of training craft, and is a part 141 flight school under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA website describes that part 141 schools, “provide a greater variety of training aids and require dedicated training facilities, flight instructor oversight and FAA-approved course curricula.”

Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 30, NWTC will offer FAA private pilot written test prep courses which will be free only to students enrolled in or who will enroll in Pilotsmith training, with a $300 tuition fee for students who will not do flight training.

The goal of the program is to offer both different pathways into and careers within the aviation industry and to increase the number of graduates working within northeast Wisconsin and Green Bay; Pilotsmith also has partnerships with Purdue University Global and Fox Valley Technical College.

Pilotsmith is one of the fastest-growing aviation programs in the Midwest, serving over 400 students traveling from all over the region, a number that has been steadily increasing by 10-20% over that last two to three years according to Smith. Piette said that, “[t]he presence of Pilotsmith Flight Academy at GRB is an important asset to the airport and the region.”

To younger people who are interested in piloting, Smith said, “So right now is absolutely the time...getting in earlier is always better.” He described that Pilotsmith has an average of two years when it comes to program length against the regular four years at a major university — which when combined with two years as a flight instructor means that most Pilotsmith students enter the field two years earlier.

Piette emphasized that Pilotsmith is not a chain but a local company with three locations and all ownership right in Green Bay.

To further engage with the community, on Tuesday, Oct. 28 from 5:30-7 p.m. Pilotsmith will be hosting an all-ages welcome event called Halloween in the Hangar at 1911 Airport Drive.

There will be free admission, free parking, treats, activities, displayed aircraft and airport equipment and a Redbird Flight.