Fairwinds Aviation launches flight lessons at Coeur d'Alene Airport

Mike and Nolan Meehan are now teaching at Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field, giving Kootenai County residents a local route into aviation that starts with a $280 discovery flight and can grow into a commercial pilot career. Fairwinds Aviation’s Idaho base at KCOE also gives current pilots a nearby place for flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks, so the new operation serves both first-time students and aviators who need to stay current.

The school lays out a full training ladder: private pilot certification, instrument ratings, commercial ratings, certified flight instructor work and advanced instructor ratings, plus multiengine training. Fairwinds lists its career pilot program at 300 total flight hours, with total cost of $97,707.50 paid in full or $103,850 at hourly rates, making the financial commitment clear even as it opens a direct path toward paid flying work.

The fleet helps explain how the program can cover that range. Fairwinds says it operates two Diamond DA40s, a Cessna 150 and a Piper Seneca at its Idaho location. Mike Meehan said he had long wanted to fly, but an Air Force ROTC route ended when a medical exam found he did not have 20/20 vision. Nolan Meehan was steered toward aviation after deciding he did not want to keep waiting tables or do construction, and the two trained together in North Carolina before bringing one of the school’s Diamond DA40s back to North Idaho.

The move lands at an airport that FAA charts identify as Coeur d'Alene/Pappy Boyington Field, and the FAA’s current airport plan places KCOE in the national network of public-use airports. Local aviation interest has been building too: the airport hosted the first full-scale air show in 21 years in June 2025, and Coeur d'Alene Aviation now promotes flight training, maintenance, charter, aircraft brokerage and hangar construction from the field. Together, those services create something closer to a local pipeline than a stand-alone school, with students able to train, rent, maintain, charter and eventually work in aviation without leaving Kootenai County.