Seth Utz
President / Chief Pilot / Gold Seal CFII
Seth has been flying planes and helicopters as long as he can remember. At 15 years old he took his first flight in a Robinson R-22 and has been hooked ever since. Seth has been training others for 3 years and has 2,000 hours of Dual instruction given and a 100% pass rate on all checkrides. His alumni and the pilots he has trained include pilots that are now flying for outfits such as: US AIR FORCE, US ARMY, Jetsuite X, Skywest, Spirit Airlines, Envoy Airlines, Delta, General Atomics, Ameriflight, UPS airlines and many more.
Seth has built a network within the local aviation community and has become a trusted leader within the Van Nuys and SoCal aviation community and leads seminars monthly for the FAA. You can trust that with Seth as your instructor you will truly receive top level mentorship and a gold seal training experience. Seth has chosen to stay in the education sector of aviation and build the ultimate training experience for future pilots in and around SoCal and beyond.
As the Owner of Ascent Aviation Academy Van Nuys, I have always run the business with a very specific set of rules.
- Always take care of the customer and make sure they are receiving the best training experience possible.
- Provide REAL mentorship to not only the pilots that I train, but ALL students that walk through our doors. Our customers are our customers for life and we don’t just help them get a license we support them all the way until their end goal whether it be a private license and teaching them to safely navigate our region OR whether that means landing them an interview at their first Airline.
- Never take the customer on joy rides unless it’s asked for! every flight with every student should be performed with a specific goal in mind for the day so they get to their checkrides as soon as possible!
- Provide the Safest, most up to date, and affordable Fleet for all of our students.
- Build a community of pilots that support each other and truly understand what it means to be safe aviators.
Andy Sharma
CFO / CFI / ATP / Captain (JSX)
Andy has been instructing for 5 years in and around the SoCal area. With over 2,000 Dual instruction hours he provides a very direct and modern approach to flight training.
Andy has always gone above and beyond in making sure he produces safe and knowledgeable pilots. When he is not helping students at Ascent Aviation Academy with their training he is a Senior captain at Jetsuite X and fly’s the ERJ.
Seth Lake
In House DPE/CFI/CFII/MEI/ATP
Seth is a retired AIR FORCE pilot and now works as an DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner) and CFI. Having Seth on board at Ascent means no waiting months for a checkride. He provides a relaxed checkride environment and has experience in many different sectors within aviation.
Checkrides are stressful, but I take a professional approach to each applicant and do my best to create a relaxed environment. I WANT you to succeed in your aviation pursuits, and nothing makes me happier to see the satisfaction on the face of a pilot after a successful checkride. -Seth Lake (DPE)
Dallas DuFrene
CFI
Dallas has been flying airplanes for several years in and around the Socal Area. His home airport has been KVNY from the start and he is very well versed with operations in this area as well.
He has over a thousand hours in pipers and is a great addition to our team here at Ascent Aviation Academy. Dallas is a favorite among the students here at Ascent too and has a lot to offer to students and our flight school alike.
Dallas is a great example of what our flight school has to offer. He is someone who started as a student pilot here at Ascent Aviation Academy and worked his way all the way up to the ranks of CFI.
We are very glad to have him here with us and you can be assured he will provide a high level of professionalism and safety as your instructor.
Let your dreams take a flight!
Choose Ascent Aviation Academy located at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles and let your dreams and passions take flight. We can’t wait to hear from you and offer you the training you deserve.