By Landon Cheben | BreakTurn Podcast Recap
A Year of the A&M: Why BreakTurn Sat Down with Flex Air
In this episode of the BreakTurn podcast, the focus stays right where aviation actually lives: maintenance. Landon sits down with Cameron Kenning and Eddie—two veterans now helping lead Flex Air—to talk about the people who keep aircraft in the sky, and the pathways that help service members translate military aviation experience into civilian credentials. Flex Air is already a BreakTurn partner, but this conversation wasn’t a sales pitch. It was a practical walkthrough of how their program works for A&Ps (Airframe & Powerplant mechanics), how SkillBridge fits into the picture, and why the mentorship layer matters just as much as the syllabus.
Meet the Guests: Two Veterans Building a Veteran-Focused School
Cameron Kenning retired from the U.S. Army after “20 years and 12 days” as a 15Y—Apache Armament/Avionics. Before leaving active duty, he earned both his A&P certificate and his CFI. Today he serves as a general manager at Flex Air, supporting operations across their growing footprint. Eddie comes from a different starting point: 20 years as a Marine infantryman who didn’t know what came next until he started hunting for a SkillBridge option that didn’t require uprooting his family. A cold email to the Flex Air CEO turned into a Zoom call—and then into a leadership role. Eddie now serves as Executive Director of Business Development, runs veteran mentorship, and helps guide the SkillBridge pipeline.
What Flex Air Actually Does: Flexible Training, Three Bases, and a Student-First Model
Flex Air’s pitch is simple, and they repeated it throughout the episode: flexibility isn’t branding—it’s policy. The school’s stated mission is affordable flight training with a veteran emphasis, but their metric for success isn’t just checkrides passed. They judge themselves by the opportunities students gain “out the door.” That philosophy shows up in how they structure student support. Every student gets:
- A CFI who owns flight instruction.
- A base manager team for operational tempo, scheduling issues, and local oversight.
- A dedicated mentor (civilian or veteran) who can mediate friction, help keep the student on track, and coach the “next step” (networking, résumés, conferences, interviews).
The thesis: don’t just build a logbook. Build a résumé. Logbook hours are implied—competitive positioning is the difference-maker.
Electric Aircraft: The Future is Coming (and It’s an Opportunity for Maintainers)
One of the more interesting sidebars was Flex Air’s involvement with electric aircraft development. Eddie kept it high-level but confirmed the school has seven aircraft on order. The point wasn’t hype—it was readiness. From a maintenance perspective, the conversation framed electric aircraft as a future advantage: fewer moving parts, different troubleshooting mindsets, and early exposure for mechanics willing to learn the systems before the industry fully normalizes them. The FARs will have to catch up, but the technology is coming whether the culture wants it or not.
Awards and Recognition: Why Accolades Matter When Markets Tighten
Flex Air has collected serious recognition in a crowded flight-training ecosystem:
- Named Best Flight School in the Pacific Region by AOPA.
- Named a top Textron flight school—one of four winners worldwide—earning a brand-new 2025 Cessna 172 and the ability to choose the scheme and tail number.
What mattered most was how those awards were earned. Cameron explained that AOPA’s process involved blind judging: reviews, student recommendations, and evaluator visits with school names removed. Their takeaway was humility and consistency—“stay true to ourselves,” then let the results follow.
Landon tied it to a simple reality: in a competitive hiring market, where you trained can become a differentiator—especially when a recruiter is comparing two applicants who both “check the boxes.”
The A&P Pathway: Bridging the Gap from Military Aviation to FAA Testing
The heart of the episode was the A&P pipeline—because many military maintainers are closer than they think. Cameron broke down the problem: military aviation maintenance often starts at the top of the complexity ladder. Service members work advanced systems, then transition to a civilian certification process that still expects knowledge of older reciprocating engines, dope-and-fabric, and foundational GA content. Flex Air’s approach is to bridge the gap through hands-on apprenticeship and targeted prep:
- Eligibility step: Mechanics use FAA Form 8610 to document experience and meet with an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) at the local FSDO. If the ASI signs the 8610, the mechanic becomes eligible to test.
- Experience step: SkillBridge participants can work as apprentices under an A&P (Cameron) to build familiarity with the areas they didn’t touch in military aircraft.
- Prep step: In the final month, Flex Air sends candidates to a partner’s expedited 10‑day A&P prep course that covers the knowledge domains and includes testing. Cameron emphasized that the test isn’t customized to your background. DME testing topics can be anything the FAA assigns on test day—so the goal is broad readiness, not narrow familiarity.
What Military Maintainers Often Need to Backfill
When Landon asked for the “gaps,” Cameron listed the usual suspects for helicopter and fighter maintainers:
- Reciprocating engines (piston/GA fundamentals)
- Fabric concepts
- Sheet metal work
- Wiring/electronics exposure (depending on MOS)
- Cabin pressurization and certain GA-specific systems
The idea isn’t that military experience is insufficient—it’s that certification expects coverage across a wider slice of aviation history and platforms than most service members encounter day-to-day.
SkillBridge Reality: Time Windows, Family Demands, and Why Flexibility Matters
A recurring theme was that SkillBridge is a time-based permission slip—not a funding source. You’re still getting paid by the military; you’re simply authorized to spend that time training with a host organization. Flex Air’s model tries to accommodate the realities of transition: medical appointments, out-processing, family logistics, and the administrative churn that hits in the final months. They still treat the program as “full-time,” but they build in practical elasticity as long as communication stays clean. When asked if people finish within the SkillBridge window, the answer was consistent: proficiency drives timelines. Some finish fast; some need additional time. The objective is not speed for its own sake—it’s readiness.
What It Costs: Free SkillBridge, Then a Targeted Investment
Flex Air’s SkillBridge itself is free—no tuition to participate in the internship/apprenticeship pipeline. The high-recommendation cost is the accelerated A&P prep course, cited at about $4,000. Funding options discussed included:
- COOL (Army / Navy / Marine Corps versions)
- Out-of-pocket
- Loans
- Potentially other veteran funding sources depending on individual circumstances
Eddie also highlighted VR&E (Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment) as a powerful but not automatic benefit—one that depends on disability ratings, counseling, and careful planning (especially for those pursuing flight medicals). Landon reinforced the practical planning message: start early—ideally a year out—because benefits, approvals, scholarships, and family decisions take time.
Flight Training at Flex Air: Fleet, Locations, and Glass Options
Although the episode centered on maintenance, Cameron also laid out Flex Air’s flight training footprint. Locations and operations:
- OJC (Kansas City): Part 141 and Part 61; fleet of Cessna 172s.
- MHK (Manhattan, Kansas): five-aircraft fleet, including a Beechcraft Travel Air multi-engine.
- MYF (San Diego): multiple Cessna 172s.
Avionics exposure: The fleet includes varied glass, with their most advanced setup being full G1000 with coupled autopilot. Other aircraft feature dual G5s. Landon noted why that matters: learning to manage systems early—especially automation—can reduce the learning curve later in airline or advanced-aircraft training.
Multi-Engine Training and the DPE Bottleneck
For Rotor Transition Program (RTP) candidates, Cameron explained that many skip single-engine commercial and go straight to multi-engine commercial. While a checkride can sometimes be achieved in minimal hours, Flex Air intentionally aims to give students more time in the airplane—often targeting around 25 hours—so the candidate shows up prepared, not just barely proficient. On the examiner side, they acknowledged the industry-wide constraint: DPE availability is tight everywhere. Flex Air’s mitigation is forecasting. Their internal planning starts roughly six weeks out for standard checkrides, and even earlier for RTP timelines—essentially hunting checkride slots as soon as training begins for each “gate” (PPL add‑on, instrument add‑on, and beyond). The key point: students aren’t left alone to solve the DPE problem while also transitioning out of the military.
The Market Question: What to Do When Hiring Slows
Near the end, Landon brought up the elephant in the room: pilot hiring cycles and the anxiety that comes with a “slow” year. Cameron’s response separated the two paths:
- A&P: demand remains strong, with projected shortages continuing for years and a clear appetite for veterans who can certify.
- Pilot: hiring may slow at the top-tier dream destinations, but aviation employment is broader than legacy airlines. There are commercial and multi-engine jobs outside the marquee 121/135 names that keep careers moving while the cycle turns.
Landon’s practical advice was to seek perspective from people who’ve lived multiple cycles. The wave always changes—what matters is having a plan, building optionality, and staying in motion.
Key Takeaways
- Military maintainers are often closer to an A&P than they think; the gap is usually breadth, not capability.
- The 8610/ASI/FSDO step is a major unlock—eligibility is about documentation and experience validation.
- An apprenticeship + accelerated prep course is a pragmatic way to “backfill” civilian testing domains.
- SkillBridge is time, not money—pair it with COOL, VR&E, scholarships, or other funding sources.
- Mentorship isn’t fluff: it reduces friction, resolves mismatches, and helps students build a résumé, not just hours.
- For pilots, DPE planning and forecasting can be the difference between momentum and stagnation.
- Cycles turn. Build skills and options now so you’re ready when the market moves again.