A Tecnam aircraft at the Flight Academy of South Texas [Credit: Jorge Whitley]
Key Takeaways:
The Flight Academy of South Texas (FAST) has taken delivery of its first Tecnam P-Mentor aircraft and plans to acquire five more to meet the rapid growth experienced since opening in January with 20 students.
FAST was founded by Jorge Whitley for his daughter Fernanda, an aspiring aviator, with the mission to inspire more women and young people in the community to pursue aviation careers.
The academy was established to address common flight training challenges, such as unreliable, older aircraft and high flight instructor turnover, by providing new planes and advanced VR simulators.
The flight school opened in January and, according to school officials, is experiencing rapid growth, with 20 students enrolled. To meet the growing demand, plans are in place for the academy to acquire five more P-Mentors.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
![A Tecnam aircraft at the Flight Academy of South Texas [Credit: Jorge Whitley]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Hunt-Panam-Jan22-370-1.jpg)
