Epic Flight Academy opens Connecticut campus at Danbury airport

Epic Flight Academy says it is the largest Part 141 flight school in the United States. It is opening a campus at Danbury Municipal Airport in Connecticut, about 20 miles northwest of Bridgeport.

The ribbon-cutting and grand opening is October 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. Instructors and officials will attend, according to the school, as will invited members of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce. Guests can tour the facility, try the flight simulator, and take an introductory flight in a new Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

Founder and CEO Danny Perna said in a news release that the school appreciates the welcome it has received in Danbury, along with support from airport leadership and the city. The campus is set up, he added, and the first flight students are already in training.

A Class D facility, the airport has two runways, 08/26 and 17/35, and several instrument approaches. Its history goes back to 1928, when it started as a grass strip. By the 1930s it had a paved runway and visits from aviators including Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh.

Epic Flight Academy was founded in 1999. It operates locations from Florida to Utah and offers flight training and Part 147 aircraft mechanic training.