December 22 issue of Flight School Business

Flight School Business

VOL. 10-ISSUE 26-December 22, 2020

TRAINING TRENDS

School expands during pandemic

Does it make sense to expand a flight training business during a pandemic? Todd Cameron, owner and founder of New York-based OnCore Aviation LLC, thinks so. At the end of October, he acquired the Prior Aviation Service Inc. flight school in Buffalo as OnCore's third location. The acquisition is a huge step in making modern flight training accessible to anyone in western New York, he said. READ MORE ›

NEWS

Piper Pilot 100 certified

Launch customer American Flyers will receive the first eight Piper Pilot 100i trainers to enter service before the end of 2020, Piper Aircraft announced December 15. Introduced in April 2019, the trainer was designed for the business of teaching people to fly. It has a base price of $259,000 for a VFR aircraft and $285,000 for an IFR-capable version. READ MORE ›

Join You Can Fly's AOPA Flight School Connector on January 6

Wondering about profitability and how you can identify reasonable profit margins for your flight school? Join AOPA's You Can Fly team as they present the January 6, 2021, AOPA Flight School Connector, a gathering of school owners and managers to share, learn, and problem-solve the specific challenges of running a flight school. Connect with your industry colleagues and learn about the topics that matter to you in a small, interactive atmosphere. Meetings typically feature a short presentation on a flight training business topic, followed by an open forum where participants ask questions, share ideas, and offer advice. The January session will be held at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Submit questions to [email protected] and register to be on the invite list here.

FAA permits Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Pilots and air traffic controllers can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, but they cannot fly or control air traffic for 48 hours after each dose, the FAA said in a policy statement released December 12. READ MORE ›

AOPA surveying pilots on coronavirus SFAR effectiveness

Did the regulatory measures the FAA enacted in 2020 to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the pilot community do the job—and what more could be done to make any new measures most effective next year? AOPA invites all pilots to take a brief online survey to weigh in on those questions. READ MORE ›

POLL

Part 61 or Part 141

Does your flight school operate under Part 61 or Part 141? Tell us in this week's poll.

Results

In the December 8, 2020, poll we asked whether you offered Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals this year. Here are the results:

MARKETING

Targeting 'elder' pilots

When you think of older pilots, are you picturing somebody in their 60s or 70s? Many prospects believe that they're too old to become pilots at 35 or 40. So it's time to broaden your thinking on marketing to mature audiences. READ MORE >

QUICK TIP

Always carry business cards. They lend credibility and professionalism, and since you could meet a potential client or vendor almost anywhere, you want to be prepared. Business cards are a cost-effective and basic marketing tool—and they count as a business expense. See more inexpensive marketing ideas at DisruptiveAdvertising.com.

SAFETY

'There I Was…': Doug Stewart

Master Certified Flight Instructor, designated pilot examiner, and general aviation icon Doug Stewart joins the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Richard McSpadden to talk about an incident he had in a 1974 Cessna Cardinal at a small New Hampshire airport. While departing the 1,900-foot strip, Stewart experienced a loss of power following takeoff, with trees at the end of the runway quickly approaching. Listen to the podcast here.

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Flight School Business Editor:
Jill W. Tallman

Production Specialist:
Sylvia Horne

Advertising Production Coordinator:
Donna Stoner

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