You’ve signed up. Maybe you’ve always wondered what it feels like to leave the ground behind and see your world from above. Maybe someone told you aviation could be your future, and you weren’t sure whether to believe them. Maybe you just wanted to try something completely new.
Whatever brought you here, we’re glad you’re coming. And we want you to walk in on flight day knowing exactly what’s ahead — because the less you’re guessing, the more you can simply enjoy it.
Here’s what your DreamFlight Discovery experience looks like from start to finish.
First Stop: Ground School
Before anyone heads to an aircraft, every pilot — from first-timers to seasoned professionals — starts on the ground. Your discovery flight is no different.
In your ground school session, one of our instructors will introduce you to the fundamentals that make flight possible: how wings generate lift, what the basic flight controls do, how we read the sky and plan for weather, and what the instruments in the cockpit are telling the pilot. Don’t worry — this isn’t a final exam. It’s a conversation, not a lecture. Ask questions. The best ones usually come from people who’ve never flown before.
By the end of this session, you’ll understand enough to follow along with everything happening in the cockpit — and maybe even anticipate it. There’s a real difference between watching a pilot work the controls and understanding what they’re doing and why. Ground school is what gets you there.
Next Up: The Flight Simulation Lab
Before you take to the air, you’ll get your hands on the controls in our flight simulation lab. Think of this as a safe space to make mistakes — and make them freely, because that’s exactly what it’s for.
Flight simulators give you a feel for how an aircraft responds to inputs: what happens when you apply back pressure on the stick, how the nose tracks when you add rudder, how a turn looks and feels from inside the cockpit. The coordination between your hands, feet, and eyes is something your brain starts learning before your wheels ever leave the runway.
Students who spend time in the simulator almost always feel noticeably more comfortable once they’re in the real aircraft. You’ll recognize the instruments. You’ll have a sense of the control feel. The cockpit won’t be foreign territory — it’ll be familiar.
Taking Flight: The Aeroprakt A-32
Then comes the part you’ve been waiting for.
Your discovery flight will likely take place in one of Wings Flight Training’s Aeroprakt A-32s — a light sport aircraft that is, in many ways, the ideal airplane for a first flight. Here’s why.
The A-32 is a two-seat, high-wing aircraft, which means the wings sit above the cabin rather than below it. That single design feature gives you something most larger planes can’t offer: an unobstructed view downward. As you climb over the community and the surrounding bluegrass countryside, you’re going to see everything — rivers, roads, farms, towns — spread out below you like a map come to life.
The cockpit features side-by-side seating, so you and your instructor are sitting right next to each other, not one behind the other. It feels less like a cockpit and more like a conversation. You can ask questions, point at things, and share in the experience together. The A-32 was also designed with a panoramic forward view — no diagonal struts interrupting the windshield — so the sky in front of you opens up wide and clear.
Powered by a Rotax 912 engine and light enough to be nimble and responsive, the A-32 is forgiving and smooth without feeling boring. You’ll feel every gentle bank, every slight climb, every moment where gravity lets go just a little.
Your instructor will handle takeoff and make sure you’re safe and comfortable throughout. But don’t be surprised when they say, “Alright — she’s yours.” Because that moment will come. You’ll have the controls. And for a few minutes, you’ll be the one flying.
What Comes After
When the wheels touch down and you climb out of the aircraft, the world will look a little different than it did before you got in. It always does.
Take that feeling seriously. For a lot of pilots, it all started exactly where you’re starting — on a day just like this one, not sure what to expect, curious enough to show up. The aviation industry needs the next generation of pilots, mechanics, engineers, and innovators, and we believe some of them are sitting right where you are.
DreamFlight Charities exists to make sure that the cost of a lesson, or the distance from an airport, or simply not knowing where to start, never stands between a student and what they’re capable of. Discovery flights are the beginning of that journey.
We’ll see you at the airport.
DreamFlight Charities offers flights through their various Discovery Events in addition to Flight Training Scholarships for students across Kentucky. Don’t forget to check our event calendar for additional updates and information on upcoming flights and other DreamFlight branded events!