Our School is located in beautiful southern Oregon, near the small town of Cave Junction Oregon. We fly from the Illinois Valley Airport (3S4 is our airport identifier). Our flight lodge for student housing is located close by the airport on airport drive. THE Lodge: A place where people come to learn to fly, but receive an experience deeper and more amazing than they ever imagined.

This is a once in a lifetime experience, something that will stay with my quests for as long as they live. They will take the love of flying home with them. This flight training experience is more of an adventure vacation and life changing inspirational retreat than just a flight school.

One Challenge I myself faced and that many potential or active flight training students face is where to stay while traveling out of your own neighborhood for flight school? This can be a huge issue especially if money is tight. For example I slept on the floor of an unheated hangar in January for nearly a month while I endured my training to become a flight instructor. This is no way to learn! I simply could not afford the additional expense of a hotel. This was a problem that must be solved, I would not put my students through this misery.

My solution was to build a large home on my property in Southern Oregon. Incidentally, when I say I “built” this Lodge, I mean that quite literally. I designed the building, I then physically built nearly everything you see and touch with my own hands. I constructed the building, I built much of the furniture, I cut the stone and placed the tiles. Any visit to this place is a very personal experience. I have created a Lodge for my students to live in while they learn to fly. I wanted to create a place where my students could even bring their families with them. Enjoy the peace and quiet of our neighborhood in the woods, the cool refreshing waters of our river rock swimming pool, the inspiring views from the hilltop lodge.

After class you might choose to take hikes to the local swimming holes, A side trip to the Oregon Caves, maybe enjoy the rugged Oregon beaches. If interested I could take you rafting and kayaking, or mountain biking. I’ve created a comfortable inviting space where you will be able to enjoy your studies. You’ll be able to relax after class and either interact with other students and instructors or choose to take some private quiet time.

Either way the Captain Drake’s lodge is free of charge to our students and their families while they are training with us. As a service to promote aviation and tourism to our community, I also will make accommodation to travelers if our rooms, cabins and RV sites are not otherwise fully booked up with aviation students.