• Club History
• Flight Training
• Member Information
• Airplanes
• Tweed Airport
• Current Conditions
• News
• Links

There has been a flying club at Yale University since the early days of the 20th century, when army aviators trained at Tweed Field (then literally a grass field). Today Yale Aviation is a non-profit educational organization with a mission of flight training and aviation education. Yale Aviation is open to all members of the Yale community and their families. Yale Aviation Incorporated is an independent organization with no formal ties to Yale University. The club owns four Piper Aircraft Corp. airplanes, including two Piper Cherokee 140 trainers and two IFR-equipped Piper Cherokee 180 four-seater airplanes for cross-country travel. The planes are based at the General Aviation Terminal at Tweed New Haven Airport, across the runway from the main terminal.

Flight Instruction. Yale Aviation offers basic flight training leading to a Private Pilot certificate, as well as more advanced training leading to the Instrument rating and Commercial certificate. Flight training is conducted by FAA-certified instructors under the overall supervision of the club's Chief Pilot, Colonel Charles A. Skelton, USMCR (Retired) and Master Certified Flight Instructor.

Member Information. Members with private pilot certificates may sign out club airplanes and fly them anywhere in the Northeast, and for longer trips with club approval. Rental fees are charged only for the time that the engine is actually running. Popular destinations include Block Island, a mere 45 minutes away by plane, Nantucket Island, and the exciting New York City Hudson river tour, in which you look into the windows of the World Trade Center as you fly down the river to the Statue of Liberty.

Yale Aviation also co-sponsors various events throughout the year, such as presentations by famous fliers and safety lectures. A Yale Aviation scholarship program helps expose New Haven youth to aviation and defrays some of the cost of earning a Private Pilot license.

To learn more about Yale Aviation, or to schedule an introductory flight:

• Telephone: Charles Skelton, 203 640-3580 (leave a message).
• Email: aviation@yale.edu.