{"id":35770,"date":"2026-06-28T23:57:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T23:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=35770"},"modified":"2026-06-28T23:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T23:58:59","slug":"epic-flight-academy-trains-air-force-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/florida\/epic-flight-academy-trains-air-force-pilots\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Epic Flight Academy Trains Air Force Pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Smyrna Beach, FL \u2013 Epic Flight Academy recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of U.S. Air Force pilots who completed Initial Pilot Training (IPT) at Epic\u2019s New Smyrna Beach campus. Epic trained these officers under an Educational Service Agreement with the Air Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the successful completion of the inaugural cohort in New Smyrna Beach, training operations have transitioned to Epic Flight Academy\u2019s Denison, Texas campus. The move enhances training efficiency by employing Epic\u2019s quality training in closer proximity to the next phase of Air Force flight training, creating a more streamlined pathway through the pilot development process. There, new cohorts of Military officers are set to arrive throughout 2026 and 2027. During the program, pilots earn their Private Pilot License (PPL), Instrument Rating (IR), and Private Pilot Multi-Engine Add-on (AMEL). Officers complete their training in 139 days or less.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A U.S. Air Force pilot conducts a preflight inspection of the aircraft during training.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Epic Flight Academy has been training aviation professionals since 1999 and has grown into one of the nation\u2019s leading aviation education organizations. As the largest FAA Part 141 flight school in the United States, Epic provides comprehensive aviation training through its nationwide network of flight training and aircraft maintenance campuses. Through its commitment to developing both pilots and aviation maintenance technicians, Epic supports the long-term growth of the aviation industry and helps meet the increasing demand for skilled aviation professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic\u2019s highly structured training environment, standardized fleet of modern aircraft, advanced flight simulators, and proven curriculum allow students to progress efficiently while maintaining the highest standards of safety and professionalism. After completion of IPT, these officers will continue Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) on the T-6A Texan II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Epic founder and CEO Danny Perna remarked, \u201cThese officers are incredibly disciplined and focused. It is a privilege to support the Air Force in this initiative. My grandfather, Anthony Perna, was a Colonel in the Air Force. He began as a flight instructor in a B-17, so it is especially meaningful to see these pilots training at Epic. As our organization continues to grow, we remain committed to serving the aviation industry by developing the next generation of pilots, maintenance technicians, and aviation professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Smyrna Beach, FL \u2013 Epic Flight Academy recently celebrated the graduation of its first cohort of U.S. Air Force pilots who completed Initial Pilot Training (IPT) at Epic\u2019s New Smyrna Beach campus. Epic trained these officers under an Educational Service Agreement with the Air Force. Following the successful completion of the inaugural cohort in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35774,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,160,30,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-flight-training","category-florida","category-texas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Epic-Flight-training-AF-2-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35770"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35775,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35770\/revisions\/35775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}