Fort Myers college to offer private pilot program

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A veteran pilot will offer a training course for aspiring aviators at Fort Myers Technical College.

The class starts Jan. 26 and will be led by Armando Gomez who has been flying planes for 44 years.

The flying aficionado said he also enjoys sharing his passion through instructing students.

“I enjoy teaching. It’s my passion and I would love to be able to produce good pilots from this school,” Gomez said.

Fort Myers Technical College hopes setting its students up with flying skills will one day lower the shortage of commercial pilots.

“The airlines are having to cancel flights on the daily basis because they don’t have pilots to fly their planes and that becomes an issue,” Gomez said.

Over the course of 14 weeks, students will learn basic flying techniques before being tested on their skills. A passing score could land trainees a private pilot’s license, though Gomez has dreams of expanding the program.

“Eventually, I would like to start a commercial pilot ground school and an instrument pilot grand school,” he said. ‘Now the student will be more app to getting a job.”

Students still have time to register for the pilot program before the class begins next week.