Joe Gilroy has flown Lockheed, Convair, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Airbus aircraft on routes across the globe. He holds FAA designee roles as a Training Center Evaluator, Aircrew Program Designee, and Lead Line Check Airman. He built Speedway Flight Training at KHMP in Hampton, Georgia, because he knew exactly what the airline world expects, and he knew most flight schools were not delivering it.
Most flight school founders come up through the instructor pipeline, buy into an existing operation, or stumble into ownership because they loved flying and figured out the business part later. Joe Gilroy is not most flight school founders.
Join The Aviation Business Podcast on May 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM Central as Dan Gill sits down with Joe Gilroy, founder of Speedway Flight Training, LLC, to talk about what a career built at the top of professional aviation teaches you about running a training program that actually prepares students for the airline world.
Who Is Joe Gilroy?
Joe Gilroy is the founder of Speedway Flight Training, LLC, based at Atlanta Speedway Airport (KHMP) in Hampton, Georgia. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate for both airplanes and helicopters, with type ratings in nine turbojet aircraft ranging from Cessna Citations to the Airbus A350. His airline career put him in the captain’s seat on Lockheed, Convair, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Airbus aircraft.
He is a Gold Seal Certified Flight Instructor (CFII) with ratings for Single and Multi-Engine Land Aircraft, Instrument Airplane, Helicopter, and Helicopter Instrument. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Aviation Education.
On the regulatory side, Joe holds three FAA-designated roles: Training Center Evaluator (TCE), Aircrew Program Designee (APD), and Lead Line Check Airman (LLCA). Each of those designations authorizes him to evaluate and certify pilots on behalf of the FAA. Holding all three is uncommon. Most instructors reach one.
What Is Speedway Flight Training?
Speedway Flight Training is a Part 61 career-focused flight school at Atlanta Speedway Airport (KHMP), a non-towered field with a 5,500-foot runway and low-traffic airspace in Hampton, Georgia, about 35 miles south of Atlanta. The school operates five aircraft, including IFR-capable Cessna 172s equipped with Garmin G5 dual displays, GFC 500 autopilot, and Garmin 650 GPS/NAV/COM, as well as a Tecnam P2006T MKII multi-engine trainer.
Speedway’s programs run from first discovery flight through CFI and CFII ratings, with a Multi-Engine Add-On and a Multi-Engine Instructor course. Their flagship Fast Track to the Flight Deck program takes students from zero hours to CFI in 12 to 18 months at a published price of $91,900 for 268 flight hours. Students who already hold a Private Pilot certificate can enter at the Instrument Rating stage and complete training through CFII in 10 to 15 months for $74,725. The school carries an 82% first-time checkride pass rate and has a Part 141 application currently in front of the FAA.
Speedway graduates who need to build time toward ATP minimums can be referred to Indy Jet’s charter operation through an industry partnership, giving students a direct path from CFI to commercial turbine time. Financing is available through Stratus Financial.
What We Are Covering in This Episode
This conversation is built around one core question: what does a training program look like when it is designed by someone who has spent 45 years flying and evaluating pilots at the professional airline level?
Joe has sat on both sides of the check ride. He has watched what happens when the training pipeline does its job and when it does not. He built Speedway to close that gap. This episode gets into the specific decisions behind the school, the standards that drive it, and what flight school owners can take from his approach and apply to their own operations.
Here is what the conversation will cover.
The career that shaped the school. Joe flew captain roles on nine turbojet type ratings and served as a Lead Line Check Airman in commercial airline operations. That background did not just give him credibility. It gave him a very clear picture of what a pilot needs to look like when they show up for an airline interview. Everything at Speedway is built backward from that standard.
What the Fast Track model actually solves. Speedway publishes three Fast Track entry points with fixed pricing and defined flight hour totals. That kind of transparency is rare in flight school marketing. Joe will talk about why he built the program this way, what the structure looks like in practice, and how it affects student outcomes.
The 82% first-time checkride pass rate. The national average hovers in the low to mid 70s depending on the certificate level. Speedway’s 82% is not an accident. Joe will walk through the mock oral exam protocol, the pre-checkride preparation process, and how his evaluator experience shapes the way students are prepared before they ever sit down with a DPE.
Three FAA designee roles and what they mean for your school. Joe holds a TCE, APD, and LLCA simultaneously. For your flight school operation, that context matters. He will explain what each role actually requires from a training program, and what schools need to look like at the level where those evaluations are relevant.
The Part 61 to Part 141 transition. Speedway’s Part 141 application is submitted and waiting. Joe will talk about what that transition involves from the inside, what changes for students, and why it matters to a growing school’s positioning with university programs, financial aid partners, and airline recruiters.
What flight school owners are underinvesting in right now. Joe has mentored pilots throughout his career and has watched the training pipeline from the primary certification level through airline type ratings. He has a direct view of where the gap is between what schools produce and what the airline world expects. This part of the conversation is built for operators who want to hear that honestly.
The Indy Jet partnership and what a post-graduation pathway does for enrollment. Most flight schools train students to CFI and leave the time-building question to the student. Speedway has a structured off-ramp into commercial charter operations through Indy Jet. Joe will explain how that partnership came together and what it means for a student who is deciding where to train.
What You Will Take From This Episode
If you own or operate a flight school, here is what you will leave with.
A clearer picture of what it means to build a training culture around professional standards. Joe does not talk about safety as a marketing angle. He talks about it as a design constraint. Everything at Speedway is built around it. You will hear what that actually looks like on the ground.
A specific look at how transparent pricing and structured program packaging affects student confidence and conversion. The Fast Track tiers are published on Speedway’s website. Joe made that decision deliberately. If you are still pricing by the hour with no clear endpoint, this conversation will challenge that.
A real-time view of what the Part 61 to Part 141 transition looks like for a growing school. Joe is in it right now. That is a perspective you can only get from someone who has submitted the application and is working through the process.
A direct answer to the question most flight school owners are afraid to ask: where does your training program fall short compared to what the airline world actually expects?
About Joe Gilroy
Joe Gilroy is the founder of Speedway Flight Training, LLC, and holds more than 26,000 incident-free flight hours across 45 years of flying. He is an ATP-certificated pilot for both airplanes and helicopters, a Gold Seal CFII, and holds FAA designations as a Training Center Evaluator (TCE), Aircrew Program Designee (APD), and Lead Line Check Airman (LLCA). Joe earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is completing a Master’s Degree in Aviation Education. His airline career included captain roles on Lockheed, Convair, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing, and Airbus aircraft.
Connect with Joe Gilroy and Speedway Flight Training
- Website: speedwayft.com
- Phone: (678) 944-7379
- Address: 552 Speedway Blvd, Hangar C-1, Hampton, GA 30228 (KHMP)
- Instagram: @speedway_flight_training
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joe-gilroy-9a25aa15/
Join the Live Recording
We are recording this episode live. If you want to hear the conversation in real time and be part of the audience, join us at the link below.
- Date: May 6, 2026
- Time: 2:00 PM Central
- Platform: Riverside
- Link: Join the live recording
Grow Your Flight School the Right Way
Building a school around professional standards is not just good for students. It is good for your business. Higher pass rates, clearer program outcomes, and a defined pathway to the airlines are conversion tools. They attract the students who are serious about a career and who will see training through to completion.
Right Rudder Marketing works exclusively with flight schools. We handle the marketing side so you can stay focused on training pilots. If you want to talk about what a full-funnel marketing system looks like for a school at your stage, schedule a strategy call with our team.
The Aviation Business Podcast is produced by Right Rudder Marketing, the only full-service digital marketing agency built exclusively for flight schools. RightRudderMarketing.com