The transformational training management system kicks off with the release of Climb’s Commercial Multi-Engine Add-On Course.
Kennebunk, Maine – December 18, 2025 – Climb Aeronautics, an aviation-focused educational software company, has launched its transformative training management system for use by flight schools, colleges, universities, and independent flight instructors and the learner pilots they serve.
Founded by experienced instructors and developers Dr. Susan Tholen and Robert Montgomery, Climb seeks to change the way students move through and complete a given aviation training curriculum by delivering an adaptive TMS that truly supports their individual aviation journey. The TMS tracks student progress on each task prior to assigning or unlocking follow-on tasks for completion. Climb’s first course, the Commercial Multi-Engine Add-On Rating, has debuted on climb.aero.
“There is a huge difference between ‘learning’ and ‘training,’” says Montgomery. “Learning involves straight lines, hard and fast rules, and teaching to the test. Training is a messy journey of discovery where mistakes are important, repetition builds performance, and opinions may vary. The goal of Climb is to bring the messiness back into flight training while retaining the rigor and record keeping we need to ensure quality.”
Tholen provides additional insight. “As a CFI I found it incredibly frustrating to have a lesson that didn’t make sense for the student, and then if I provided training on things that were a better fit for helping them along, I couldn’t record that fact easily in a syllabus due to arbitrary constraints,” Tholen says. “I wanted a system that tracked how well the student had done on which maneuvers and gave me tools to see that in a way that helped me select the best items to do next. That’s the paradigm we used to build the Climb TMS.”
Climb has partnered with Aviation Supplies & Academics, a leader in the development of flight training materials, for its first offering, a Commercial Multi-Engine Add-On Rating, in which the Climb platform utilizes and leverage ASA’s expert content. Greg Robbins, general manager of ASA, has been enthusiastic to join forces with Climb, “ASA is very excited to be working with Climb by combining proven ASA content with their new Training Management System,” says Robbins. “The Climb TMS provides a new and exciting way for students and instructors to interact in the learning process. We look forward to growing our partnership with Climb as they expand their offerings.”
Free to flight schools, all of Climb’s and the course provider’s revenue comes through the fee charged to the student for using the course. Essentially, Climb provides the hosting services, and sets a fee for the management of the course, which it charges to the developer. A fee for use of the Stripe payment process is included in Climb’s fee to the developer.
Pricing on the Multi-Engine course is $125, and it’s available now on the Climb.aero website.
Climb also has a Private Pilot Airplane Course and an Instrument Airplane Course in development, with release dates set for the first quarter of 2026. Future courses also include one targeted to students in aviation high school programs.
Climb has already found support from notable training providers in the U.S. Paul Beulieu, founder of Avier Flight School and AFSim, based in Beverly, Massachusetts, has been leading aviation education for the past 11 years. With more than 30 years of experience as an educator and 26 years as a pilot, Beulieu is dedicated to shaping the most confident and competent pilots in the most efficient timeframe. “We’re excited to be working with the passionate team at Climb LLC as we bring quality aviation instruction to flight students,” says Beulieu. “Climb has built an impressive platform backed by a talented team, and together we’re opening doors for the next generation of aviators. We couldn’t be happier to join forces in this important mission.”
Students take many different paths to their pilot certificates, as Montgomery and Tholen have observed. “Some are young, unencumbered by life, and able to fully concentrate their time and efforts on flight training,” says Montgomery. “Others have careers, families, and distractions forcing them to move at a slower pace with more repetition. Our adaptive system ensures that all students get the training they need.”
Tholen adds, “Most syllabi have a student perform something until they master it and then move on. Over and over, I have observed students getting ready for check rides who had mastered stalls, but hadn’t performed one in 6 months or more. A good instructor knows to repeat things occasionally, and a good TMS should help remind instructors about things like this.”
“Finding better ways to teach and better ways to help other CFIs teach well has always been a priority for me,” says Tholen. “I’ve taught many ground school classes, because I love to explain things in a way that helps students understand and not just memorize bullet points, as well as providing practical and useful observations that will help them be good pilots.”
Climb also has been built from its foundations to help solve fundamental issues in flight training. “Too often, the flight school is deserted when the weather is bad,” says Montgomery. “This slows the student’s progress while costing the flight schools and instructors financially. By working in a non-linear way, we ensure that there is always something valuable to do. Simulator training, ground discussions, and even modified flights keep the student progressing while ensuring safety.”
Climb is built to be useful to both Part 141 schools as well as those operating under Part 61 and independent CFIs—ultimately for a wide range of possible courses. In addition to the standard certificate-based courseware, Climb plans to offer courses targeting test piloting a new airplane (experimental/amateur-built; E/AB), STEM-specific courses for high school students, model-specific training courses, and various other niche offerings.
Uniquely, its founders also intend the Climb ecosystem to form a marketplace for great training, open to other creators. “Talented developers can create innovative training curriculums, flight schools can deliver the curriculums, and the students reap the benefits,” says Montgomery. “While we expect a lot of our content to fit the standard ‘slots,’ we see the ability to include new forms of training that take advantage of modern technology.”
To access a demo course, please visit the Climb.aero site.
