America’s Best Aviation Group: Turning Experience Into Opportunity
The story behind our commitment to aviation education, certification preparation, and the people taking the next step in their careers.
Years of hands-on aircraft maintenance experience do not always translate into a clear path toward certification. A capable technician may know the work, understand the responsibility, and still need help preparing for the examinations that open the next chapter of a career. America’s Best Aviation Group was built around helping people connect those pieces. Based in Goodyear, Arizona, the organization brings together aviation, education, and career opportunity. Through America’s Best AMT Courses and the development of America’s Best AMT Mexico, its work has grown beyond a classroom into a broader commitment to experienced technicians, military service members, and the aviation community. Its founder’s story is featured in VoyagePhoenix’s Community Highlights.
Built for the next step
Founder Antonio Garcia established America’s Best AMT Courses more than a decade ago to help experienced aircraft mechanics prepare for FAA certification and move forward professionally. His approach begins with respect for what students already bring: technical experience, discipline, and years of responsibility for the aircraft in their care. That purpose is especially meaningful for military service members transitioning into civilian aviation, technicians pursuing their credentials, and people who have spent years in their trade but need a clearer way forward. Focused preparation, structure, and support help them build on that foundation. For Garcia, the commitment extends beyond an examination. Students take time away from work and family, often travel to attend, and place their trust in the school during an important professional transition. Their investment deserves thoughtful instruction, clear communication, and a process they can understand.
“A professional credential can represent a different future: the ability to pursue another position, qualify for more responsibility, or create greater stability for a family.”
Antonio Garcia, Founder, America’s Best AMT Courses
Aviation expertise
An educator’s perspective. Garcia’s own background connects the technical and human sides of that mission. An FAA-certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with Inspection Authorization, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and human services and a master’s degree in education. He has pursued doctoral studies in policy change.
Those experiences shape how he thinks about instruction, student support, and the systems that can help—or hinder—someone’s progress. His aviation background informs the technical expectations. His education background influences how the school communicates, organizes learning, and supports people preparing for their next credential.
Focused preparation, grounded in experience
America’s Best AMT Courses offers a 12-Day A&P Accelerated Preparation Course, focused oral and practical preparation, and Inspection Authorization preparation. These programs build on the qualifying experience or education applicants already have; they are not a substitute for that foundation.
The goal is to help students organize their knowledge, strengthen areas that need attention, and prepare for the examinations associated with their next credential. Knowing how to perform the work and being ready to demonstrate that knowledge in an examination setting are connected, but they are not identical. The school’s role is to help experienced applicants prepare with greater structure and clarity.
A more connected student experience
Preparation begins before a student enters the classroom. Helping applicants understand documentation needs, communicating expectations before arrival, and coordinating testing are all part of the experience. For students traveling to Goodyear, practical details matter: where to go, what to bring, what to expect, and whom to contact.
The organization’s expanded Goodyear operation supports that approach. Dedicated instructional space is complemented by a separate building for hands-on preparation and oral and practical testing. An inhouse PSI testing center and access to on-site FAA Designated Mechanic Examiners support coordination between preparation and testing.
For Garcia, additional space is meaningful because of what it makes possible for students and instructors. The focus is not simply a larger facility, but an environment organized around the work students are preparing to do.
The student experience begins before the first class.
Opportunity beyond borders
The development of America’s Best AMT Mexico has added an international chapter to the organization’s story. Its work in Mexico City extends certification preparation and career-development support to experienced aviation technicians while creating connections between people and organizations across borders.
The guiding idea remains the same: recognize the experience and talent that already exist, then help qualified candidates understand the preparation and steps ahead. Expansion is not only about reaching another market. It is about making a complicated path more understandable and supporting people who are ready to pursue their professional goals.
Connected to the industry it serves
Certification preparation remains central to America’s Best Aviation Group, but its vision also considers what comes afterward. Building relationships with aviation employers and organizations keeps that work connected to the industry and the career opportunities students hope to pursue.
The aim is to understand employers’ needs while recognizing the preparation and potential of the people coming through the programs. By keeping education connected to the industry, the organization seeks to support informed career development beyond the classroom.
Growing with purpose
As the organization has grown, so has the work required to support it. Facilities, staffing, student processes, testing coordination, partnerships, and international operations all depend on clear systems and people who can take ownership of their responsibilities.
Garcia credits the team behind that work: the people handling administration, assisting students, coordinating examinations, teaching, and supporting operations in Mexico. A founder’s idea may start a business, but consistent service takes a team.
Faith and family keep him grounded as he leads that growth. The ambition is not simply to build a bigger school. It is to build an organization that serves people well, respects the standards of aviation, and creates opportunities that can make a lasting difference.
More space, additional programs, an international presence, and a broader network of relationships have expanded the organization’s reach. Its central purpose remains unchanged: helping experienced people prepare for the next step.
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