March 20 2018 issue of Flight School Business

VOL. 8-ISSUE 6-3/20/2018

TRAINING TRENDS

Checkride price tags

How much do checkride costs vary by region? The Flight School Association of North America published some conclusions based on a recent poll of pilots. READ MORE ›

NEWS

FAA extends PA-28 fuel selector placard inspection deadline

The FAA has accepted AOPA’s proposal to extend until April 9 the deadline for inspecting 17,957 Piper PA-28-series single-engine airplanes for the proper position of their fuel tank selector cover placards. READ MORE ›

N.C. university seeks flight school for new program

Mount Olive University in North Carolina has sent out a request for proposals, seeking a flight school to help launch a new aviation program. The RFP, available online, specifies that the winning flight school will need to provide and maintain a fleet of single-engine trainers, including one equipped with a glass cockpit. The contract term is five years. Flight training will take place at Mount Olive Municipal Airport (W40). The deadline to submit proposals is April 9.

Canada avgas producer reports progress against disruption

Canada’s lone supplier of 100LL aviation fuel said March 7 it has made “significant progress” toward resolving a quality control issue that has disrupted the country’s avgas supply for much of 2018. Imperial Oil said it has identified all locations that received fuel that had failed a conductivity specification test. READ MORE ›

North Orca Technologies to test scheduling software

North Orca Technologies is testing a new flight training scheduling software with key partners. The program, Sked+, features a bonus point rewards program and permits the user to stagger flights to maximize aircraft usage on a daily basis. Sked+ encourages students and pilots to book flight time during non-peak hours, last-minute cancellations, weather changes, and other situations when aircraft would otherwise be on the ground. The program can be integrated with FleetCaptain, a flight school operations support software that allows dispatching of flights booked through Sked+. For more information, see the website.

Senate addresses maintenance tech shortage

What is quickly becoming a critical shortage of aviation maintenance technicians has caught the attention of the U.S. Senate. In an attempt to create more new A&Ps, two senators have sponsored a bill that would create a pilot program to support workforce development initiatives. READ MORE ›

POLL

Fly-in season

Do you plan to attend any fly-ins or airshows this year? Tell us in this week’s poll.

Results

In the March 6, 2018, issue, we wanted to know whether your flight school has a written pre-accident or incident plan that is shared with employees. Here are the results.

<em>Flight School Business</em>

MARKETING

A long cross-country

You wouldn’t depart on a long cross-country without planning for it. In the same vein, William Woodbury says your flight school’s marketing requires a similar level of planning, discipline, and professionalism. He lays out a blueprint. READ MORE ›

QUICK TIP

Flight reviews are a requirement, but they don’t have to be routine. CubFlying.com, at Auburn Municipal Airport (S50) in Auburn, Washington, advertises flight reviews in tailwheel aircraft to challenge clients to a new experience. The flight school’s website emphasizes that pilots don’t need a tailwheel endorsement to receive a flight review, and stresses the “romance of tailwheel flying and grass runways.”

SAFETY

Mic fright? Point those pilots to ‘Ask ATC’

Do your customers struggle with talking to ATC? The AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Ask ATC series tackles how to call up a busy controller, how to get a fast-talking controller to slow down, and several other topics in bite-size videos that any nervous pilot will appreciate. See the latest in the series online.

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Flight School Business Editor:
Jill W. Tallman

Production Specialist:
Sylvia Horne

Advertising Production Coordinator:
Donna Stoner

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