Engine company takes flight training to shopping malls

In an effort to build the pilot population—and its customer base—Continental Motors on July 24 announced a new flight school concept it calls Zulu.

The Zulu schools will be based at non-airport locations like shopping malls and promise customers full-motion simulator training on their own schedules, a full syllabus, high-quality aircraft, and a fixed price for obtaining ratings (instead of hourly charges). All Zulu instructors will be paid salaries instead of hourly flight pay, and the company will use Redbird Flight Simulation devices extensively in training.

"We are going into flight training as a way to grow our (engine) business," said Continental CEO Rhett Ross. "If we don't have enough pilots, I can't sell engines."

Ross said the Zulu takes lessons learned from Redbird's Skyport in San Marcos, Texas, and brings them to non-airport locations in the United States and abroad.

"There's an obvious need in countries like China--a country with many potential pilots and almost no airports."