East Coast Aero Club

I learned to fly at ECAC around 2010-2011 and got all my subsequent ratings here. The instructors and office staff are always amazing. When anyone I know expresses interest in learning to fly this is where I send them! What people may not realize is that ECAC has an amazing maintenance shop that not only takes care of the entire rental and training fleet, but works on personal aircraft from all over the area. Adam and his crew are absolutely fastidious and exacting when it comes to safety, and the quality of their work is never anything but perfect. No problem is too small. I recently came in for a chronically problematic door latch, and Eric took the time to sit in the airplane with me and watch my door closing technique and he didn't give up until he had a plausible explanation and plan for the stubborn issue.

If you are looking to take flight classes on your own paste and book lessons but have a busy work schedule this place is the right place for you. This is one of the three ECAC locations in the state. The Bedford location is where I was able to take my flight lessons. ECAC is by far one of the best flight schools in the state with very reasonable pricing on rentals.

The front desk staff are friendly, polite and helpful. They make you feel welcomed and always greet you with a smile.

The schedule although at times can be busy with multiple students flying for the day, once you book your introductory class you can then book your flight lessons online as you wish; with however many hours you would like to book in a week. You can book flights until a month in advance which gives you plenty of time to plan your personal life around the lessons or the lessons around your personal life. The website is super simple and easy to use and is very straight forward.

The instructors are all very skilled and experienced and know how to teach and make you feel comfortable with the plane. Once you start your solo flights other instructors look out for you and are always there as a resource if you need anything. As you take more classes you are expected to do more and more hands on while the instructor observe and goes a little less hands on to give you the skills you need to fly the plane. Justine and Sophie were the two instructors I flew with and both were knowledgeable, skilled and very friendly. They both made me feel comfortable learning from them and slowly progressing to my solo flights.

The planes are very very very well maintained and although some are a little older, they perform amazingly, and that goes to show the good work of the maintenance department with this club. There is a very organized system for when there is any maintenance issues with the plane. Things get fixed and looked at right away.

Overall I have nothing negative to say about this flight school and only all positive things. It takes a lot to be a pilot but this place makes you feel welcomed, comfortable, teaches you, gives you the skills, and makes you a damn good pilot.

Highly recommend!!!

It’s a great school with amazing people. Specially If you are an international student pilot (or want to be one ), they guide you all the way for the process. Plane rental prices is on a bit higher side but they put emphasis on maintenance and safety of the planes that justifies the cost.

Any pilot on the east cost will recommend this school due to the good track record they have maintained.

I worked at East Coast Aero Club last year and I currently rent from them. The entire operation runs like clockwork. Maintenance and dispatch work together to plan future maintenance which means renters and students always have a plane available. If there is ever any issue, dispatch is very quick to make adjustments to resolve the issue.

The quality of instructors is also of note. ECAC has a strong team that work together to achieve the common goal of helping students succeed. If one instructor isn’t a fit, it’s easy to find another that does.

As an employee and a renter, I am consistently satisfied with the quality and efficiency of this aero club.

I live 12 minutes away from Beverly Airport, where there are options for learning to fly. But I drive 35-50 minutes to East Coast Aero Club at Hanscom because of the quality of their instructors, the mint condition of the planes, and the transparency of maintenance (there is a board in the office where you can see the maintenance status of each plane), it's a bit pricier than other flight schools, but worth the money. You can learn in old Warrior IIs, or newer Cessnas 172 with the latest avionics. Highly recommended if you want to become a pilot in a safe and professional environment.

Great maintenance shop and flight school! I returned to flying several years ago after a long hiatus. I got a flight review from ECAC and flew their rental planes for several months, then with the able assistance of Mark (the owner) I purchased my own plane and base it at the field. I have all my maintenance done by ECAC and can't say enough about the service. They understand my preferences (airworthy but not necessarily shiny) and have helped me out in a pinch several times.

I find both Mark (the owner) and Adam (head of maintenance) to be friendly, helpful and fair.

I received, as a gift, a Groupon for an introductory helicopter lesson which included an hour of ground instruction and about half an hour of flying with the instructor in a Robinson R44. I hadn't operated any type of aircraft before, and I had a great first experience here. My instructor was professional, competent, and friendly. The reading required to schedule my lesson definitely made the ground lesson easier to understand. The flight was the best part of the experience. It was very easy to feel the helicopter responding to the controls. The cyclic is very sensitive, like the instructor said ("no abrupt control inputs"). I'd love to continue learning here and I would definitely recommend ECAC to anyone interested in learning to fly.

Very well run FBO. In-house maintenance ensures all the aircraft are well-maintained and quickly back online. Wide variety of rental aircraft (high wings/low wing, steam/glass) and professional instructors to choose from. Busy class Delta given proximity to Boston, but what better way to be forced to master your radio work.

I learned to fly airplanes here in 2001 and 2002. Then I learned to fly helicopters here. Now I'm an instructor in both airplanes and helicopters. ECAC has been a wonderful community for me and I very much appreciate the maintenance staff that Mark Holzwarth has built up during the past 25+ years.

I am a 67 year old student pilot - ECAC instructors are excellent; knowledgeable, safe and patient - I recently soloed and plan to complete my Private Pilot License this summer....

I've got an apple 🍎 that just got her Commercial SEL recently! Ty

Nice and Clear Administration. Will be Starting my Fixed Wing Training Soon.

Great flight school, highly recommend

Great flight school