December 19 issue of Flight School Business
| VOL. 13-ISSUE 26-December 19, 2023 |
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TRAINING TRENDS
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| Transforming 'a culture of silence' |
| Safety experts, mental health specialists, pilots, government agencies, and aviation industry professionals convened in December to discuss breaking down barriers to mental health care in the industry. Pilot mental health has been at the forefront of the FAA's agenda since 2021, and it once again entered the conversation back in October when an Alaska Airlines pilot was arrested and charged with attempted murder after he allegedly tried to shut down the engines on the flight he was jumpseating. (NTSB photo) READ MORE › |
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NEWS
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| Van's Aircraft enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy |
| After announcing a severe cash-flow problem in late October, Van's Aircraft on December 4 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and also rolled out a business plan to continue operations. The plan includes price hikes for kits and parts. Customers have until January 15 to accept or reject those proposed price increases.
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| Redbird Migration registration open |
| Calling all flight schools, flight instructors, and aviation teachers for kindergarten through twelfth grades: Redbird Flight Simulations has opened registration for its 2024 Redbird Migration conference. Migration will be held March 5 and 6 at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston. It's a good chance to network with your peers and learn a lot about the industry. Register at the Redbird Flight Simulations website.
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| ATP Flight School acquires 40 Cessna Skyhawks |
| ATP Flight School and Textron Aviation announced an agreement December 7 in which ATP Flight School will purchase 40 additional Cessna 172s to be delivered beginning in 2026. The addition to ATP's existing fleet of 225 Skyhawks across its network of training centers marks ATP's fourth fleet purchase. ATP has purchased a total of 135 Skyhawks for its Airline Career Pilot Program in just more than a year.
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| West Virginia university adds Cirrus SR20 to fleet |
| Marshall University in Charleston, W. Va., took delivery of a new Cirrus SR20 in December. The SR20 joins six other airplanes in the fleet of the university's Bill Noe Flight School. The fleet now has five Cirruses and a Piper Seminole. Students at the flight department greeted the new arrival in a celebration that also included a water cannon salute from the 130th Airlift Wing Fire Department, according to MetroNews.com.
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POLL
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| How does your flight school celebrate pilot certificates? |
| Flight schools, how do you celebrate a customer's new private pilot certificate? Tell us in this week's poll. |
| Results |
| In the December 5, 2023, issue, we wanted to know when your flight school's busy season is. Here are the results.
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MARKETING
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| Money out, customers in |
| Are your marketing dollars doing their job? The only way to find out is to measure some critical variables and determine whether dollars spent in marketing affected those variables. William Woodbury shows you how to measure cost per lead, cost per customer, conversion rate, customer lifetime value, and return on investment for a specific campaign. READ MORE > |
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QUICK TIP
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| How can you establish and maintain a good culture at your flight school? Phillipe Santiago of Aviator Zone Academy in Florida says the challenge for his flight school was to balance a professional environment with a family atmosphere that promotes the fun of flying. He offers tips on how you can do the same in this video from AOPA's You Can Fly. |
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SAFETY
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| ASI issues new Real Pilot Story 'Cold Weather Catastrophe' |
| Private pilot John Berman recalls a distressing night flight during the winter of 2018, when prolonged exposure to extreme cold temperatures adversely affected his judgment. View the video from the AOPA Air Safety Institute. |
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