Action Multi Ratings is a Part 61 specialty flight school based at Groton–New London Airport (KGON) in Groton, Connecticut, operating from 155 Tower Avenue on the airport grounds. The school has specialized exclusively in multi-engine training for over 40 years, earning a regional reputation as the Northeast's go-to accelerated multi-engine program. Over its operating history, Action Multi Ratings claims to have helped tens of thousands of pilots earn their multi-engine certificates and ratings.   The school's core offering is a suite of structured, fast-paced 3-day accelerated courses covering the full multi-engine rating sequence: Private Multi-Engine Add-On, Commercial Multi-Engine Add-On, Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI), ATP Multi-Engine Land, and a combination Commercial Multi + MEI course for pilots who want to earn both in a single enrollment. A Combination Commercial Multi and MEI course is available for pilots who hold a Commercial ASEL and CFI-SEL and want to complete both ratings efficiently in one trip. In addition to multi-engine specialization, Action Multi Ratings also offers single-engine flight training under the Coastal Air banner for students who need primary or additional single-engine training alongside their multi-engine work.   The accelerated model is built around pre-arrival preparation. After scheduling, each enrolled student receives a training package that includes a detailed training syllabus, an open-book quiz, the Piper Seneca Pilot's Operating Handbook, and a maneuvers description document — all before arriving in Groton. Students are expected to arrive with the aircraft systems, emergency procedures, and maneuver sequences already studied, allowing ground and flight training time to focus on skill development rather than first exposure to material. Reviews consistently characterize the instruction as system- and procedure-focused, high-intensity, and professionally delivered. An FAA Designated Pilot Examiner is on premises each day for checkrides, eliminating scheduling delays associated with finding an external examiner.   The school is owner-operated, with the owner holding an A&P​/​IA certificate, which keeps the Piper Seneca fleet in consistent airworthy condition with minimal downtime. International students are welcome.

Home Airport(s)

Groton–New London Airport ICAO: KGON | IATA: GON | FAA LID: GON   Located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Groton in New London County, Connecticut, near the southeastern Connecticut shoreline. State-owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority. The airport covers 489 acres at an elevation of 9 ft MSL — essentially sea-level, on the coastal plain between the Thames River and the Long Island Sound. FAA contract tower operating hours 0700–2200 daily; Class D airspace during tower hours. No touch-and-goes permitted between 2200 and 0600. Providence Approach Control provides approach and departure service; Boston ARTCC provides coverage on 124.85 via Woodstock RCAG when Providence is closed. ATIS and ASOS on field. EMAS (Engineered Materials Arresting System) installed at both ends of Runway 05, a safety feature typically associated with commercial airport standards — a reflection of the airport's former commercial service history and its maintained AOC.   The airport was established in 1929 as Connecticut's first state airport, originally named Trumbull Airport. During World War II it served as a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter group training base (1942–1943), then transferred to the U.S. Navy as an auxiliary to NAS Quonset Point through 1946. Amelia Earhart, who married at Groton in 1931, flew into KGON. The airport has hosted multiple presidential visits for U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremonies.   Runway 05​/​23 — 5,000 ft × 150 ft (primary; asphalt; ILS​/​LOC Runway 05; RNAV​/​GPS Runway 05 and 23; VOR Runway 05 and 23; MALSR; HIRL; EMAS both ends; noise abatement departure procedures in effect) Runway 15​/​33 — 4,000 ft × 100 ft (secondary; asphalt; RNAV​/​GPS Runway 33; HIRL)   For multi-engine training, KGON offers a highly effective environment. The airport sits near the junction of Long Island Sound and the Thames River, placing training aircraft in proximity to coastal weather — sea breezes, marine fog, and the variable wind conditions characteristic of New England shoreline airports — while the full-service ILS and instrument approach infrastructure on Runway 05 provides a legitimate all-weather IFR training setting. The airport's proximity to Block Island Sound and the open water approaches from the south give Vmc demonstrations and single-engine training a visually unambiguous horizon and good low-altitude situational awareness. The New England four-season climate, with genuine low-IFR conditions in fall and winter, crosswind exposure from prevailing southwesterlies, and occasional icing potential, ensures that multi-engine students at KGON encounter authentic IMC conditions rather than perpetual VMC.

Fleet and Facilities

Action Multi Ratings operates a fleet of Piper PA-34 Seneca multi-engine trainers as its primary training aircraft, with four Seneca I variants documented in Pilot Career Center records. Earlier forum reports from the school's history reference PA-34-200 models, and the school has operated the Seneca consistently as its fleet type throughout its 40+ years of operation. Wet rates are available at approximately $325​/​hr per community reports.   Piper PA-34 Seneca I (×4) — Six-seat counter-rotating twin piston; 200 HP Lycoming IO-360 engines (counter-rotating on the PA-34); retractable gear; IFR equipped; used for all multi-engine certificate and rating training including Private MEL, Commercial MEL, MEI, and ATP. The Seneca I's counter-rotating engine configuration eliminates the critical engine asymmetry present in conventionally engined twins, making single-engine training more symmetrical and procedurally focused. Aircraft are maintained in-house by the owner, who holds A&P​/​IA certification, supporting high availability and rapid turnaround of any squawks.   Facilities are located at 155 Tower Avenue, Groton, CT 06340, directly on the KGON field. An on-site FAA DPE conducts checkrides daily, making practical test scheduling seamless for students completing the accelerated 3-day programs.

Hours of Operation

Hours are not formally published on the website. The school operates on a scheduling basis; prospective students contact Action Multi Ratings directly to schedule training. The on-premises DPE is available daily for checkrides in conjunction with scheduled courses.

Additional Notes

Action Multi Ratings occupies a distinctive niche in the Northeast flight training market: a mono-focus, high-volume, accelerated multi-engine shop with 40+ years of operational history and an in-house DPE. These three elements in combination are unusual. Most multi-engine training at small schools is offered as one component of a broader curriculum; AMR has built its entire identity and reputation around the single discipline of multi-engine certification, which concentrates both instructor experience and institutional knowledge in ways that general-curriculum schools rarely achieve for any one rating.