ADF Airways Academy — operating under the full corporate name Aircraft Development Flight Airways Corp — is a FAA Part 141 and Part 61 flight school based at Miami Executive Airport (KTMB) in Miami, Florida, located at Building 227, 14532 SW 129th Street. Founded in 1986 by Alex Derly Farkas, who began her aviation career as a flight attendant in Colombia before earning her pilot certificates in the United States, ADF is one of the longest-operating flight schools in South Florida. The school has grown from a single office and one rented airplane at the original Tamiami Airport to a capacity of 200 students and has graduated over 7,000 pilots from countries around the world.   Leadership is currently held by President Yazmin Farkas, with Chief Instructor Antony Singh and Assistant Chief Instructor Robert Escobio overseeing the training program. The school is approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), accepting GI Bill benefits, and holds SEVIS authorization for M-1 student visas, making it fully accessible to both domestic and international student pilots. Stratus Financial is a financing partner, and a learning management system (LMS) with Jeppesen-based curriculum materials and digital tools is integrated into the training workflow.   Programs cover the full professional pilot progression: Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate (Single and Multi-Engine), Certified Flight Instructor (CFI​/​CFII), Multi-Engine Rating, Night Rating, Tailwheel endorsement, and ATP​/​ATP-CTP. A proprietary Jet Transition program — taught by active airline pilots — prepares commercial graduates for the transition from piston aircraft to high-performance multi-engine turbine aircraft, bridging the gap between the Commercial certificate and entry-level airline employment. ADF's academic platform is supported by in-house ground school, FAA written test facilities, and structured progress tracking via its digital LMS. The school also offers Aircraft Dispatcher courses. Miami Dade College's Eig-Watson School of Aviation uses ADF as one of its contracted flight training providers for students pursuing the college's Aviation Sciences associate degree programs.

Home Airport(s)

Miami Executive Airport ICAO: KTMB | IATA: TMB | FAA LID: TMB   Located approximately 13 miles southwest of downtown Miami in south Miami-Dade County, Florida, at an elevation of 10 ft MSL. Publicly owned by Miami-Dade County; formerly known as Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, renamed in 2014. The airport covers 1,380 acres and is a primary GA reliever for Miami International Airport (KMIA). Full-time FAA contract ATC tower, operating 0700–2300 local daily. Class D airspace during tower hours; Miami Approach Control provides approach and departure services. U.S. Customs port of entry; CBP available with advance notice. The Miami Automated International Flight Service Station (AIFSS) — which handles more flight planning activity than any other FSS facility in the United States — is co-located at KTMB. The airport is also the primary airbase for the Miami-Dade Police Aviation Unit and home to Miami-Dade College's aviation programs and the Wings Over Miami aviation museum. Noise abatement procedures in effect; no turns below 1,000 ft AGL. Flight training is limited on weekdays from 1200–0400Z and on weekends and holidays from 1400–0200Z.   Runway 09R​/​27L — 5,999 ft × 150 ft (primary; asphalt; grooved; ILS​/​LOC Runway 09R; MALSR; GPS​/​RNAV both ends; HIRL; PAPI; primary instrument runway; most heavily used at the airport) Runway 09L​/​27R — 5,003 ft × 150 ft (parallel secondary; asphalt; MIRL; RNAV​/​GPS approaches; PAPI 09L; left traffic 09L, right traffic 27R) Runway 13​/​31 — 4,001 ft × 150 ft (crosswind runway; asphalt; MIRL; PAPI 13; closed daily 0400–1200Z when Runway 09R​/​27L is in use) Traffic pattern altitude: 1,000 ft MSL for fixed-wing light aircraft; 1,500 ft MSL for heavy and jet aircraft; helicopter corridor between parallel runways at 500 ft MSL.   For flight training, KTMB is one of the most internationally active and culturally diverse GA training environments in the United States. Miami's position as the primary gateway between the United States and Latin America means the student population at KTMB is genuinely global — Spanish-speaking students from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and across Latin America train alongside U.S. students on the same ramps. ADF's Latin American heritage and bilingual operational culture make it a natural fit for this population. South Florida's subtropical climate — year-round VMC days, active convective weather from May through October, RNAV approaches available when needed, and proximity to Class B airspace at KMIA approximately 13 miles to the northeast — creates an operationally rich training environment. The Bahamas and Caribbean cross-country routes accessible from KTMB add international flight exposure that most inland schools cannot offer.

Fleet and Facilities

ADF Airways Academy operates a mixed fleet of single-engine primary trainers, a multi-engine trainer, and simulator facilities supporting the full training program: Cessna 172 (multiple) — Standard four-seat IFR-capable primary trainers; used for Private Pilot, Instrument Rating, and early Commercial training phases. ADF has historically operated a fleet of Cessna 172s and 152s, and current documentation confirms Cessna 172s remain central to the primary fleet. Tecnam P2006T — Four-seat twin-engine aircraft with Garmin avionics; used for Multi-Engine Rating and commercial multi-engine training; T-tail configuration with counter-rotating propellers; IFR equipped. The Tecnam is a modern composite twin with fuel-injected Rotax engines, offering a lighter and more economical multi-engine training platform compared to traditional Piper Senecas or Beechcraft Duchesses. Redbird FMX Full-Motion AATD (×2) — Full-motion FAA-approved Advanced Aviation Training Devices; used throughout the training curriculum for instrument procedures, emergency training, commercial maneuvers, and ATP preparation. ADF purchased two Redbird full-motion simulators after initially operating Redbird FTDs, and the FMX units are integrated into the structured Part 141 curriculum. Hours are loggable toward Instrument Rating and Commercial certificate. Airbus A320 Flight Simulator — Used for ADF's proprietary Jet Transition course, which prepares commercial graduates for turbine aircraft operations. The course is taught by active airline pilots and covers A320 systems, normal and abnormal procedures, and airline operational culture. The V-One Aviation Center, co-located at KTMB, provides simulator access for B1900 and King Air 350 training in addition to A320 initial and transition training.   ADF's campus at Building 227, 14532 SW 129th Street includes classroom facilities, a pilot lounge, a ground school training area, FAA written test capabilities, and the digital academic platform (ADF Academic Platform) accessible through registered student credentials.

Hours of Operation

Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Saturday hours vary. Tower operating hours at KTMB are 0700–2300 local, defining the primary training window. Flight training noise restrictions apply: weekdays 1200–0400Z and weekends​/​holidays 1400–0200Z.

Additional Notes

ADF's founding story is itself a notable detail for a Latin American-focused school's listing. Alex Derly Farkas arrived in the United States from Colombia, built her flight training credentials, and launched the school in 1986 with a single rented aircraft. Nearly four decades later the school has graduated over 7,000 pilots from around the world — a figure that underscores the school's genuine international reach and its alignment with the Miami aviation ecosystem, which functions as the primary aviation training hub for Latin American pilots seeking FAA certification.   The Jet Transition course is an unusual offering for a school at this scale. Most flight schools do not have the infrastructure or the airline-pilot instructors needed to run a legitimate turbine transition program, and most students pursuing airline careers after Commercial completion have to go through type rating academies or airline in-house training. ADF's in-house A320-focused course, taught by working airline pilots, provides an accelerated exposure to jet operations that can meaningfully improve a candidate's readiness for regional or international airline hiring pools — particularly for Latin American carriers where A320-family aircraft dominate narrowbody fleets.   The Miami Dade College partnership is also strategically significant. As a contracted training provider for MDC's Eig-Watson aviation program, ADF gains access to a structured academic pipeline with formal degree pathways, scholarship programs, and GI Bill approval layered on top of its standalone flight training capacity. Students who want a degree credential alongside their FAA certificates can pursue the MDC associate degree through ADF's training, adding institutional academic weight to their professional pilot qualifications.