How to Connect With 10,000-Plus Texas Pilots: The Best Groups and Schools

Here are some suggested resources to help you prepare for flying in the state of Texas:

Businesses/Organizations

Recreational Aviation Foundation

The RAF’s Texas headquarters are in Burnet, northwest of Austin. The foundation, which specializes in protecting recreational aviation nationwide, is quite active in the Lone Star State.

In 2022, a formal agreement was signed with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, authorizing the RAF to assist the TPWD in “planning future recreation aviation opportunities by proposing areas and airstrips to be utilized for recreational aviation access and purposes.”

“The state of Texas is looking to the RAF for expertise and guidance on managing aviation assets in their parks while identifying new opportunities to provide additional recreational access,” said RAF chairman John McKenna.

RAF Texas liaison Tres Clinton worked closely with former Texas state representative and RAF liaison John Cyrier on this memorandum of understanding. Clinton or Cyrier are the people to ask if you have questions about backcountry ops in Texas, and their contact information is on the RAF website.

C3 Air

There’s a reason the RAF Texas headquarters are in Burnet. That’s where Clinton and C3 Air are, as well. 

“I always wanted to do something that I loved and had a passion for,” said Clinton. Although he was once on track to become an airline pilot, after graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2008, his life took an unexpected change of course. 

“The financial crisis luckily kept me out of airline flying,” he said. “I thought that’s what I wanted to do but off airport and tailhweel flying is my real passion. I love teaching people through the technical aspect.”

Finding himself doing just what he loves on a daily basis, C3 Air offers backcountry and tailwheel instruction, seaplane ratings, flight reviews, and maintenance. Not to mention, Burnet sits in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, great for backcountry, off-airport, and seaplane ops.

C3 Air’s 2014 CubCrafters Top Cub with Wipline 2100 amphibious floats offers a superior floatplane training platform that provides more horsepower and useful load than many others. 

TacAero

The flight school is based in Fredericksburg (see the  feature story on this friendly fly-in town in this issue) and offers tailwheel, backcountry, and off-airport training at the iconic Frederickburg Airport (T82). 

Other services TacAero offers include CubCrafters transition and GB1 Gamebird courses, annual refresher training, seaplane ratings and even vintage aircraft and heavy tailwheel training in a gorgeous red 1942 WACO UPF-7. 

“We wanted to go down the rabbit hole of offering training in the WACO for insurance reasons, that’s a big deal for RARE Aircraft customers, as well be able to offer rides.”

Spin and upset recovery training, as well as training in the ScaleWings SW-51 Mustang, a 72 percent scale replica of the iconic WWII P-51D fighter is also achievable thanks to TacAero. 

Texas Top Aviation

This flight school, based in New Braunfels, offers flight training at all San Antonio-and Austin-area airports.

The school specializes in training you in your airplane—they will come to you. If you’re looking to upgrade your type ratings or satisfy insurance requirements, Texas Top Aviation offers insurance-approved training in the TBM, Piper M600, Piper Meridian, Piper JetProp, Piper PA46, Cirrus, Columbia, and Bonanza.

It also offers a comprehensive IFR course. Texas Top Aviation has its own fly-in, too. This year it’s at Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, Missouri, on April 15-17/ Registration closes March 10.

Facebook Groups

There are several Texas aviation-oriented Facebook groups as well. Some of the best include:

Austin Pilots is a private Facebook group focused on the Central Texas area, but it welcomes people from across the Lone Star State, from professional pilots to those interested in learning to fly.

Texas Heli’s is focused on helicopter fun in Texas. Especially useful is a link, provided on the page, from Full Throttle Aviation that lists places within Texas—and beyond—where you can land your helicopter. 

North Texas Aviators is a private group intended to help connect pilots in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.

Texas Pilots is perhaps the largest group in this category, with over 10,000 members.

This article first appeared in the March/April 2026 issue of Plane + Pilot magazine.