Ardmore Flying School

Ardmore Flying School has trained pilots at Ardmore Airport since 1961, and its graduates now fly for airlines across Asia and the Pacific, from India to Vietnam and Hong Kong. Ardmore is one of New Zealand's busiest general aviation airfields, 33 km from Auckland's city centre, which gives students constant real-traffic exposure from their first circuits.

The school holds CAA New Zealand Part 141 approval plus recognition from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, and operates as a designated training partner for Vietnam Airlines. It is one of the country's largest instrument flight training centres, flying Cessna 172R and 172S aircraft in both analogue and Garmin G1000 configurations alongside Diamond DA42 twins, and it is the only Cessna Pilot Training Centre in the Pacific Rim and Asia. Simulators include a Frasca G1000 device, a DA42 multi-engine simulator, and a fixed-base A320 simulator that introduces CPL students to multi-crew operations before airline training.

The core pathway is the NZ Diploma in Aviation, leading to PPL, CPL and Multi-Engine Instrument Rating, with an optional C-Category instructor rating. Students from more than 25 countries train at Ardmore each year, supported by dedicated briefing rooms, classrooms and an on-site maintenance hangar.