A & M Airsports, LTD is a light sport aviation specialist operating out of two Illinois airports: its primary base at Cushing Field (3IS) in Newark, IL, approximately 60 miles southwest of Chicago, and a secondary operating location at Rochelle Municipal Airport (Koritz Field ​/​ KRPJ) in Rochelle, IL. The school has been providing Weight-Shift Control (WSC) trike sales, flight training, and related services to the greater Chicago and Midwest region since 1997, making it one of the longest-running trike-specific flight training operations in the country. The school's training focus is exclusively on the Weight-Shift Control (WSC) — Land Sport Pilot category, commonly known as the trike or flexwing microlight. A trike is a powered ultralight or light sport aircraft in which the pilot controls the aircraft by shifting their weight against a hang glider-style delta wing, rather than using traditional rudder​/​aileron​/​elevator inputs. It is a genuinely distinct discipline from three-axis fixed-wing flying, and A & M Airsports is one of the few schools in the Midwest with the depth of instructors and on-staff FAA examiner to take students from introductory flight through the full Weight-Shift Control Sport Pilot certificate and Sport Pilot Instructor (SPI) rating. A & M Airsports has an FAA-designated examiner on staff for WSC practical test checkrides and proficiency checks — a significant operational advantage, as WSC examiners are rare. This means students can complete their entire training pipeline, including the practical test, within the school without needing to travel to another facility or wait for examiner availability. The school also conducts aircraft annual inspections and serves as a sales, service, and parts dealer for AirCreation and Airborne trike brands, offering new AirCreation Wings, Pixel trikes, and ELSA trikes, as well as used trike and wing sales. Ground school is offered alongside flight instruction, and the school operates year-round.

Home Airport(s)

Rochelle Municipal Airport ​/​ Koritz Field (Secondary Location) ICAO: KRPJ | IATA: RPJ (FAA assigned; no IATA designation) | FAA LID: RPJ Located approximately two miles south of Rochelle, Illinois, in Ogle County, at the intersection of Interstates 88 and 39. The airport covers 113 acres and sits at an elevation of 780 ft MSL. It is a city-owned, public-use general aviation facility. Runway: Runway 07​/​25 — 4,225 ft × 75 ft (asphalt; RNAV​/​GPS approaches for both ends; VOR-A approach; REIL on both ends; PAPI on both ends; MIRL; pilot-controlled lighting via CTAF 122.8)No control tower. Uncontrolled airspace; CTAF​/​UNICOM 122.8. AWOS on field.

Fleet and Facilities

A & M Airsports trains exclusively in weight-shift control trike aircraft. The school operates AirCreation and Airborne brand trikes for flight training and rental, consistent with its dealer relationships with both manufacturers.   AirCreation Trikes — French-manufactured flexwing light sport aircraft, widely regarded as among the best-engineered production trikes available. AirCreation models vary by wing and trike base configuration; the school offers new AirCreation Wings, Pixel trike bases, and ELSA (Experimental Light Sport Aircraft) variants. AirCreation trikes are known for stability, cross-country capability (range up to 400+ miles on high-end models), and a well-documented safety record in the WSC category.   Airborne Trikes — Australian-manufactured flexwing aircraft; another leading production brand in the WSC world, offering robust build quality and a range of wing configurations suited to both training and personal cross-country flying.   Both brands feature tandem seating (pilot and passenger​/​student in-line), rear-mounted engines that isolate engine vibration and fluids from the wing, and flexwing designs that manage turbulence loads more passively than rigid-wing aircraft. Trikes are not spin-capable and are difficult to stall under normal conditions, which is a meaningful safety characteristic for primary training.   On-site at Cushing Field, the school maintains hangar space, fuel services, and a full inventory of new and used trikes, wings, flight gear, and accessories. Annual inspections are performed on-site for customer-owned aircraft.

Additional Notes

A & M Airsports occupies a genuinely niche position in the Midwest aviation market. Weight-shift trike training is a specialized discipline that most conventional flight schools do not offer, and having both an experienced instructor staff and an on-staff FAA examiner for the WSC practical test is uncommon nationally. For students interested in the trike pathway — whether as a first certificate, an add-on rating for existing pilots, or a step toward a Sport Pilot Instructor credential — A & M Airsports is one of the most complete training resources in the region.   The school's dual-airport setup (Cushing Field as the primary base, KRPJ as a secondary location) means prospective students should confirm lesson location at booking, as the two fields are approximately 30 miles apart. The school operates year-round, which in northern Illinois means students will encounter genuine seasonal weather variety — from summer thermals and afternoon convective build-up to cool fall and spring conditions with more sustained crosswind exposure.   For pilots already certificated in three-axis aircraft who are curious about weight-shift flying, the school's published comparison of LSA categories is a thorough resource — and reflects the depth of product knowledge A & M Airsports brings to what remains one of the more underrepresented corners of U.S. sport aviation.