{"id":11,"date":"2012-01-06T07:43:35","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T12:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2026-03-13T22:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T02:17:37","slug":"about-the-instructor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/?page_id=11","title":{"rendered":"About the Instructor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill Bonnette<\/p>\n

Flying has been a lifelong journey for me, and I still enjoy every minute of it. Over the years, I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to spend more than 28,000 hours in the air, with about half of that time dedicated to flight instruction.<\/p>\n

I have had the opportunity to instruct in a wide variety of aircraft, including single-engine and multi-engine airplanes, seaplanes, tailwheel planes, and helicopters. I have always enjoyed the different challenges that each of these types offers.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re here for a one-time discovery flight or you\u2019re looking for a mentor to help you master a new skill, my focus is always on providing a relaxed, safe, and professional environment to help you reach your goals.<\/p>\n

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\"Chuck<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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Chuck Ricko<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tBilly is a great instructor. I\u2019m prepping for my check ride, and feeling confident.\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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\"Dave<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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Dave Shoemaker<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tBill is a fantastic instructor. After a 17 year hiatus I decided to resume the journey and get my private pilot certificate. From minute one I was comfortable with his teaching style and manner. I had never trained with him before but he made the entire process so easy.
Professional combined with a great personality.\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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\"James<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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James Lucey<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tCurrently working on my PPL and I\u2019ve had a great experience\u2014excited to be making progress towards my goal. Fly Pioneer Valley is an excellent place to learn to fly\u2014great expertise from instructors at a classic municipal airport setup.

I started my flight training at one of the big flight schools, but after a random discovery flight at Fly Pioneer Valley I made the deliberate decision to pursue the rest of my license here, even though it\u2019s a much farther drive from where I live. I really appreciate the individualized approach to instructing, and the passion that the instructors show for both flying and aircraft maintenance. Their fleet is in great shape and their planes are constantly being worked up with new technology and safety equipment.

I\u2019ve really enjoyed learning to fly in such a classic general aviation setting. Fly pioneer valley is a great place not only to learn how to fly, but also gain an appreciation for aviation and the community surrounding it\u2014highly recommend to anyone looking to start or continue their flying education.\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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\"Nick<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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Nick Leblanc<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tBill is an awesome instructor. very relateable and work with almost any schedule, great instructor. always wanted to fly and now im pursuing my dream, you can too!\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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\"Joe<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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Joe Goodbrake<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tIf you want to learn to fly, this is the place! Great instructor, one of the best pilots out there. Bill is the man!\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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\"Shawn<\/div>\r\n\t\t
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Shawn Cloutier<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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\t\t\t\tI started my quest for my pilots license in July 2019. After going through 2 other CFI\u2019s and not making any progress I found Bill Bonnette at Fly Pioneer Valley. In October of 2019 I started flying with Bill and he has always been willing to put in the time and energy it took to help me get my pilots license. I will be forever grateful to Bill for his help and guidance and I hope we will be friends for life.\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t
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Bill Bonnette Flying has been a lifelong journey for me, and I still enjoy every minute of it. Over the years, I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to spend more than 28,000 hours in the air, with about half of that time dedicated to flight instruction. I have had the opportunity to instruct in a wide variety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8368,"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11\/revisions\/8368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flypioneervalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}