ACOM Aviation Academy is a Part 61 flight school based at Dothan Regional Airport (KDHN) in Dothan, Alabama, founded in 2017. Self-described as the largest flight school in southeast Alabama, ACOM serves student pilots across the Wiregrass region — the agricultural tri-state area spanning southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia, and the Florida Panhandle — with a schedule-flexible training model designed to accommodate students who work or have family commitments alongside their aviation goals.   Programs run from Private Pilot through Certified Flight Instructor, with the school's five-aircraft fleet covering VFR, IFR, and TAA training platforms to support the full certificate sequence. Aircraft are hangared and maintained by technicians with over 20 years of experience — a deliberate policy that prioritizes aircraft availability and reduces weather-related maintenance delays, which is significant in southeast Alabama's high-humidity environment. Discovery flights are available for prospective students.   Beyond standard flight instruction, ACOM operates a "Night School Flight School" ground school program specifically designed for high school students. Weekly evening classes run October through May, Tuesday or Thursday, 6:30–8:00 PM, covering FAA Airmen's Knowledge Test preparation for Private Pilot, UAS (drone) operator, and related certifications. One session per month takes place at an aviation destination — airports, museums, and related venues — providing experiential aviation exposure beyond the classroom. All courseware and books are included in the low monthly tuition. This youth STEM aviation program is a defined part of ACOM's community mission, reflecting the school's positioning as an aviation education resource for the broader Wiregrass region, not just a transactional flight school.

Home Airport(s)

Dothan Regional Airport ICAO: KDHN | IATA: DHN | FAA LID: DHN   Located approximately five to seven miles northwest of Dothan in Dale County, Alabama, at an elevation of 400–401 ft MSL. Owned and operated by the Dothan-Houston County Airport Authority, Inc. The airport covers 1,150 acres and is entirely self-supporting — no city or county tax funding — relying on its own revenue base. Full-time ATC tower; Class D airspace. ASOS on field. Approach​/​departure services provided by Cairns Approach (Fort Novosel) when available; Jacksonville ARTCC provides approach​/​departure coverage on frequency 134.3 when Cairns Approach is closed. The 280th Combat Communications Squadron, Alabama Air National Guard (AFSOC-gained), maintains a non-flying unit at the airport, reflecting its shared civil-military heritage.   Runway 14​/​32 — 8,499 ft × 150 ft (primary; asphalt; ILS​/​LOC both ends; VOR​/​TACAN approaches; RNAV​/​GPS; HIRL; primary all-weather runway for commercial and GA operations) Runway 18​/​36 — 5,498 ft × 100 ft (secondary; asphalt; RNAV​/​GPS approaches; VOR approach Runway 18; MIRL)   ACOM's location at 781 Flightline Drive places it half a mile past the main terminal, near the Air Traffic Control tower. The field's Class D airspace and 8,499-foot primary runway create a training environment that exposes students to standard ATC communication protocols from their very first lessons — a deliberate reason cited by the school for choosing KDHN over smaller uncontrolled airports in the region. The Wiregrass area's weather profile — warm and humid subtropical climate, frequent convective activity in summer, morning fog in fall and winter, and long VFR seasons in spring — offers genuine seasonal weather exposure that builds practical ADM skills. Fort Novosel (formerly Fort Rucker), the U.S. Army's primary rotary-wing aviation training base, is located approximately 15 miles to the north, and the associated Hanchey Army Heliport and Ozark​/​Blackwell Field appear in the nearby airfield listing. This military aviation proximity adds to the density of controlled and restricted airspace in the Wiregrass, giving students exposure to coordination requirements beyond standard Class D operations.

Fleet and Facilities

ACOM Aviation Academy operates five hangared aircraft covering the full range from basic VFR primary training to multi-engine and TAA commercial time-building: 1977 Piper PA28-140 Cherokee ($140​/​hr) — Two-plus-two seat VFR primary trainer; dual NAV​/​COMs with ADS-B Out; 110 knots at 8 GPH; newer interior. The Cherokee 140 is a stable, forgiving low-wing platform well-suited for initial dual instruction and primary solo work. 1976 Piper PA28-151 Warrior ($160​/​hr) — Two-plus-two seat IFR trainer; Garmin 430W GPS​/​NAV​/​COM; digital NAV​/​COM with ADS-B Out; 120 knots at 10 GPH; newer interior. Used for instrument training and cross-country IFR operations. 1974 Piper PA28-151 Warrior ($160​/​hr) — Second IFR-capable Warrior with identical equipment specification (Garmin 430W, digital NAV​/​COM, ADS-B Out); provides fleet redundancy so IFR students are not grounded when one aircraft is unavailable for maintenance. 1989 Bellanca Super Viking ($250​/​hr) — Two-plus-two seat high-performance, complex, TAA aircraft; advanced avionics panel; 150 knots at 14 GPH; newer interior. TAA-qualified for commercial certificate requirements. The Super Viking is a retractable, constant-speed, fuel-injected high-performance single — an unusual and capable commercial time-building platform that gives students experience well beyond what typical Cherokee​/​172 fleets offer for the commercial checkride. 1966 Piper Twin Comanche ($395​/​hr) — Four-to-six seat counter-rotating twin-engine IFR trainer; Avidyne IFD 440 GPS Navigator; S-TEC 50 autopilot with altitude hold; digital audio panel; EDM 760 and EDM-930 engine management systems; Garmin ADS-B transponder and ADS-B Out; newer panel and interior. Counter-rotating props provide symmetrical thrust in single-engine operations, eliminating critical engine asymmetry and making single-engine training more predictable and pedagogically cleaner than conventionally-engined twins.   All aircraft are maintained by AMTs with 20+ years of experience and hangared year-round. Facilities are located at 781 Flightline Drive, Dothan, AL 36303, on the KDHN field.

Hours of Operation

ACOM lists availability as "always open" on Facebook, reflecting a schedule-flexible booking model. Standard business operations appear to run Wednesday through Saturday, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM based on directory listings, with broader instructor availability by arrangement. Night School ground classes meet Tuesday or Thursday evenings, 6:30–8:00 PM, October through May.

Additional Notes

The Bellanca Super Viking and the Piper Twin Comanche together represent an unusually interesting commercial-track fleet for a small regional school. The Super Viking is rarely seen in flight school inventories — most schools favor Cessna Arrows or Piper Arrows for high-performance complex endorsements — but the Viking's performance, retractable gear, constant-speed prop, and TAA-capable panel make it a genuinely capable commercial training platform, and its 150-knot cruise speed makes cross-country commercial training efficient. The Twin Comanche's counter-rotating engine configuration is a real instructional advantage: students learning multi-engine operations can focus on actual engine-out procedures without the compounding variable of a critical engine, which simplifies the initial learning curve and allows instructors to focus on systems knowledge and decision-making rather than correcting for asymmetric thrust.   ACOM's Night School Flight School program reflects a community-oriented mission that distinguishes it from schools operating purely as per-hour flight providers. By meeting students where they are — evening hours, STEM framing, monthly field trips, all-inclusive courseware pricing — the school is building aviation awareness and pipeline in a region that has historically produced aviation talent through its proximity to Fort Novosel and the U.S. Army aviation training community. A student who completes the Night School ground course and then transitions into actual flight training at KDHN arrives with FAA knowledge test preparation already complete, reducing time-to-solo and overall cost.