March 26 issue of Flight School Business
| VOL. 14-ISSUE 7-March 26, 2024 |
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TRAINING TRENDS
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| Will record-breaking pilot hiring trends continue? |
| The first indications that the airline pilot hiring numbers are beginning to slow down have come: The number of pilots hired in the first months of 2024 is trending downward. Major airlines hired 1,716 pilots in January and February, down from the pace set in the first two months of 2022 and 2023, when 2,082 and 2,256 pilots were hired, respectively, according to data compiled by Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA). Carriers had been playing hiring catchup, and also filling new-hire classes with more pilots than they normally would have needed. Coupled with equipment issues and delayed orders, the majors are relaxing their aggressive hiring drive, FAPA said. READ MORE › |
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NEWS
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| Updated EFB guidance supports paperless flight |
| A new advisory circular makes clear what pilots have wondered since electronic flight bags first proliferated in cockpits more than 10 years ago; they are approved to replace virtually all paper reference materials. The FAA on February 23 issued AC 91-78A, an update to the original AC issued in 2007 that sought to bring clarity to the subject. But references to EFB classes and the lack of clear guidance on documents such as pilot information handbooks left some questions unanswered. READ MORE › |
| Two years in, West Virginia university flight program soaring |
| Marshall University's Bill Noe Flight School in Charleston, West Virginia, has exceeded its enrollment goals after just two years. Marshall University President Brad Smith said enrollment is at 148 percent of what was budgeted. The flight program started in 2022 with 18 students, and now has 127 students, according to MetroNews.com. The program has 10 aircraft with delivery of its first helicopter anticipated, and the fleet may grow to as many as 28 aircraft if the program continues to grow the way it has, Smith said. |
| AOPA launches aviation career prep curriculum in Kentucky |
| Kentucky state agencies and the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly program have partnered to develop an aviation job curriculum for schools. The semester-long curriculum includes hands-on activities and projects that build time management skills, customer service skills, and other basics such as résumé writing and job interview techniques. The program is designed to help prepare Kentucky youth for airline pilot, commercial drone operator, aerospace engineering, and other aerospace STEM careers.
READ MORE ›
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POLL
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| Results |
| In the March 12, 2024, issue, we wanted to know what your flight school's pass/fail rate is. Here are the results.
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MARKETING
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| Add 'business mode' to your social media checklist |
| Like confirming trim before takeoff, having your thinking positioned correctly prior to rolling out a social media posting mission will help with effort performance and audience impact. READ MORE > |
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QUICK TIP
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| What's the secret to making your customers happy? For Sherman Gardner, owner of In the Pattern Flight School in Denton, Texas, the secret is to stay focused on the flight school's core mission and to make customers feel good about the time and money they spend at the flight school. "We treat their time and their money as if it were ours," said Gardner. Learn more in this video from AOPA's You Can Fly. |
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SAFETY
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| Real Pilot Story: Lost Elevator |
| Rob Olsen-Drye was cruising the blue Alaska summer sky at 1,300 feet msl when he lost elevator authority. Luckily among the forest there was a narrow road within gliding distance. Olsen-Drye's skill and proficiency, his airplane's equipment, and a dose of luck helped him walk away, even though the airplane was totaled. Hear all about it in the latest Real Pilot Story from the AOPA Air Safety Institute. View the video here. |
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