Jumpers Away Named a 2026 AOPA Distinguished Flight School

Jumpers Away, a South Caolina-based jump pilot training school, has been designated by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association as a 2026 Distinguished Flight School. It is the fourth year in a row for Jumpers Away to receive the distinction. Jumpers Away was one of 52 flight schools in the U.S., and one of only 12 flight schools in the Southern Region to receive the honor for 2026.

AOPA annually surveys pilots about their recent flight school experience and ranks flight schools based on the responses. Jumpers Away received high marks in Educational Quality and Customer Focus, with an aggregate overall score of 87 in a range from 0 to 100.

As part of the survey, pilots were invited to add comments about their flight training experience. Here is what some Jumpers Away graduates said.

Jumpers away landed me a job with just barely 300 hours Total time…the fact i even got a low time pilot job that wasn’t CFI with under 500 TT is a blessing like no other and I can only give all the praise to Ed Scott and Jumpers Away…

The curriculum was really well put together and super valuable…the actual training felt compact but loaded with information, and I was able to take in a lot. Right after taking this course, I was hired as a jump pilot.

Not only did I land my very first pilot job, but I also gained a mentor I can reach out to anytime with questions or for advice.

Even after the Jumpers Away course, Ed will still keep in touch with you helping you find that first jump pilot job, or even just checking in to see how you are doing. I would recommend this course to anyone in a heartbeat that wants to become a jump pilot.

The owner, Ed Scott, personally connected me with several drop zones where I could work after completing the training, which has resulted in many fruitful opportunities to hone my skills.

Jumpers Away is an outstanding training program for aspiring jump pilots. It gave me my first real introduction to the jump pilot world and directly helped me land a job.

Jumpers Away has course dates available in April and beyond.