Flight Training

How Will Flying Clubs Welcome New Pilots?

December 26, 2012 by Scott Spangler

There’s no denying that flying clubs make aviation affordable by sharing the fixed costs of airplane operation among a number of people. Active pilots are the obvious benefactors, as are lapsed pilots looking for a way to resume flying. In focusing on their immediate needs, members of many clubs have, without realizing it, created a closed society. Without new members to propagate the pilot species, their number will dwindle with time, adding to the survivor’s financial responsibilities.

This observation is brought to you by Tim Lemke, president of the Winnebago Flying Club, in a conversation we had after his presentation at a recent AM Oshkosh, a monthly chamber of commerce networking breakfast. Before his 10-minute talk on the benefits of flying for fun and personal transportation he set up a small display and neatly stacked flyers that itemized the benefits of club membership, which includes learning to fly. A flight instructor, Tim is the perfect presenter, and he never turns down an opportunity to promote the club and flying.

Not relying on face-to-face opportunities, the club has also been extending its reach with social media to invite prospective pilots and others to its monthly meetings, which always include an appropriate presentation. In December it was a refresher on winter flying, and the information also shows newcomers that they won’t need to hibernate if they learn to fly. Honestly, the club’s efforts to recruit new members, either lapsed pilots or those who want to become a pilot, is to sustain its existence, which also helps aviation as a whole.

Building Community is the Secret of Flight School’s Success

December 3, 2012 by Scott Spangler

The day after Thanksgiving, Sporty’s Academy shared news of a week that any flight school would love to have, four first solos, two new private pilots, two new commercial pilots, and a new flight instructor. The cooperation of Mother Nature made it possible, said Eric Radtke, academy president and chief flight instructor.

Radtke summarized the secret to Sporty’s success in the release’s second paragraph: “The fact that so many of our customers and staff were able to participate in the cutting of the shirt tails and other celebrations made it that much more special and created a wonderful sense of community.” The italics are mine.

Community, Radtke continues, has consistently provided three-quarters of of the school’s new customers since it opened in 1987. They come from personal, word-of-mouth referrals Sporty’s earned by delivering a good product to their customers. First-class flight training is, obviously, a big part of the product, but another critical component is building community by eagerly and honestly welcoming the newcomers into aviation society.

Taking Measure of a Life in Aviation

November 26, 2012 by Scott Spangler

Beyond the kids, one of the pleasures of substitute teaching at Omro High School is talking with its principal, Brett Steffen. Infected in adulthood, he’s got a chronic case of aviation passion. I like it when he stops by during my student-free planning period because our airplane conversations are almost always thought provoking.

In the course of a conversation just before the Thanksgiving break, logbook tallies of total flight time and the number of different aircraft makes and models flown came up in some context now forgotten. Although he didn’t say it, I got the feeling that as a new pilot still building these aviation measurements, that he felt not quite equal to those with more experience. But he shouldn’t feel that way, nor should any pilot at any stage of their life in aviation.

What matters more to me is participation, and sharing what we’ve learned with others who share our interest in flight. The numbers in my logbook are inconsequential to the scores of aviators and enthusiasts who have taken the time to inspire, to influence, to teach, to reteach, to mentor, and to share the educational moments of their lives and, in the process, to change the course of my life.

The Slow Death of a Great Brand

November 7, 2012 by Robert Mark

One of the first things I learned as a graduate student at Northwestern’s Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program 20 years ago and years later as a teacher in that same program was the value of a brand. Managing a brand is so important people earning college degrees focused entirely on how to protect this important asset. A brand like McDonald’s is much more than its golden arches however, as Apple’s is more than its intriguing white fruit logo.

While a brand is really an intangible, its value to any successful company is immense. In the most simple of terms, a brand is really all about a company’s reputation in the marketplace. How reliable are its products? How clever are employees at developing fresh solutions to old problems? Just as important is the faith a corporation’s name conjures in the minds of consumers ready to hand over their money. Would iPod’s have become household words if Apple had turned their back on customers when a unit failed? Not a chance. A brand then is everything a company does that makes consumers return for more … the employees, the products, the service. Screw any of these up and the brand’s in peril.

Case in Point

Hawker Beechcraft’s troubles aren’t new since the 90-year old aircraft builder’s been wallowing in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since May. No surprise that investors Goldman Sachs and Onex wanted out after struggling with HBC’s $2.5 billion debt, but when the Chinese deal with Superior Aviation fell apart a few weeks ago, on the eve of the industry’s biggest show at NBAA in Orlando, Hawker was trapped between a rock and a hard spot. [Read more…] about The Slow Death of a Great Brand

Redbird Sims Changing Training Paradigm

October 29, 2012 by Scott Spangler

Given the rapid pace of change in cockpit technology, it’s really sad in a self-destructive way at how slowly change has come to the training paradigm that puts new pilots in those cockpits. With few exceptions, the way an instructor educates a new pilot hasn’t changed in nearly a century. The training duo talks a bit, maybe draws some diagrams, and then climbs into the noisy non-stop classroom that is the training airplane of your choice.

Certainly it was coincidence that sent me related e-mails on the same day. One was from Redbird Flight Simulation. In its first year, Redbird’s Skyport laboratory fledged 20 new private pilots for a flat fee of $9,500. More important, the simulator-based program took 38 hours, two-thirds the time of the national average time invested in the traditional training paradigm.

A contributing factor is GIFT, Guided Independent Flight Training, which introduces students to new maneuvers in the sim and automatically scores their performance. It works in concert with Parrot, Redbird’s communication training software, which coaches students until they are ready to fly for a CFI with a pulse, who is a mentor and coach rather than a primary instructor.

The second e-mail reported that the professional pilot program at the Fox Valley Technical College in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, had its two new Redbird FMX full-motion sims up and running. I responded not with if I’d visit, but when? I’d have to wait until noon.

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