Starting a Flight School
So, yeah, I’m going to start a flight school.
I realize that is kind of a cavalier way of putting it, and I don’t want anyone to think I am not taking it seriously, but it just seems like the right thing to do at the moment. I am super excited to be going after this, and at the same time completely mortified about all of the things that I could potentially miss and completely screw myself. Not to mention the things that I could do completely right, but then have uncontrollable things like weather really make it challenging.
At the same time, I think the challenge of it all is part of the excitement for me. I don’t feel like I have challenged myself enough for quite awhile and I need new things to get excited about.
The other thing I am really excited about, is being able to teach, instruct, and mentor. This last fall I had the opportunity to help coach my son’s little league football team and it was so much fun watching those boys learn and grow and develop new skills. It had been something like 15 years since I last coached, and it helped me to remember how much I missed it. There is just something incredibly fulfilling about watching someone start from essentially zero and a few months later have improved so much.
As an instructor in the Air Force it was equally fulfilling to watch new navs come in with little experience, and watch them grow into proficient aviators. Coming back from pilot training I was able to see one in particular who is now an instructor herself and has become a bit of a go to for many of our navs. I am so proud of her and can’t wait to have similar experiences as a CFI.
Part of the reason I am putting this on here is to log my journey, but I am also hoping that people much smarter than me will help me see the holes in my plans, and help prevent me from missing anything, but in particular the small things I don’t even realize I am missing, but that will kill the whole thing before I start. Please also feel free to tell me I am insane with any part of this. I would rather have someone point out my follies now than after I drop thousands of dollars into the whole thing.
In no particular order these are the things I have been working on.
The first big one is finishing my CFI. I have completed all of the written tests, but simply ran out of time with moving and deploying so this will be completed in the Spring at some point. I’ve been reading through all of the different pubs and regs that I could find recommended by others, but would gladly accept any guidance on what other areas I should focus on to prepare for the checkride.
I am a little concerned about learning some of the commercial maneuvers since we either didn’t do them in the Air Force, or they were done in high performance turbine powered aircraft, which are a little different than a single engine piston. That being said, I am sure it is like most things and I just need to get back in the small plane and practice and it will work itself out.
Just to be clear, I realize the CFI is not a gimme, and that I have a lot of work to do, but I also realize there are other things I can work on while I finish that up so I am ready to go once it is complete.
Which brings me to the next big hurdle. The airplane.
I have considered buying one to complete my training in as I feel it would be great to start to get comfortable with it for the checkride itself, but I am also not sure that I want to start worrying about the financial side of ownership until I am closer to being able to receive income from it. Though I guess as a commercial pilot I could start offering some other services while I finish to help with the payments. Sorry, just thinking out loud here.
In terms of which airplane to buy I am leaning towards a Cherokee, and probably a 160. A 180 or 235 would be even better at my altitude, but I just don’t think I will be able to find one at a price that will suit my needs. Even a lot of the 160s I have seen are outside my range, but I have seen a few that I think would work.
I am thinking the Cherokee because that is what I did most of my training in, and I feel the most comfortable in it. I took a couple of flights in a 172 last spring and I just felt completely out of place. I realize I would get more comfortable with time, but I also have come to like the low-wings better. Not to mention I have had an even harder time trying to find a 172 at a reasonable price.
My goal is to find something between $30-40k which I realize is not going to be an incredibly easy task. But based on my searching, they do pop up on occasion. From what I can tell I think I am looking at getting one that probably has about 1000 hours since it’s last engine overhaul which would give me some time before I would need to overhaul it again. In running my numbers I have decided I need to fly it about 300 hours a year to be able to rent it out at a somewhat reasonable price. Not that any rentals are reasonable anymore. So that would give me about three years before I would have to undertake that major expense. I would obviously much rather find something even lower than 1000 hours, but don’t think that is very likely at the prices I am considering.
I am curious to hear if people think there are better options of aircraft, or if I am out of my mind with what I think I can get. The biggest limiting factor for me is that I live at 4,000+ feet so I need something that has at least a little more oomph. I would love to get something with a lot more oomph, but that just isn’t in the cards right now.
My plan is to base my school out of Reno-Stead Airport, KRTS, also the home of the Reno Air Races. I have made a couple of contacts up there and intend to pursue them more thoroughly when I get home from my deployment. I really feel like the people there are going to be my key to being successful, especially at the beginning.
The two biggest things I see as challenges at the airport are securing a hangar and finding a good, reliable mechanic. I realize a hangar is not necessarily an absolute must, but with the winter weather, wind, and heat we have in Reno I feel like I will reap the benefits of keeping my investment well protected.
Having a reliable mechanic also seems critical. Obviously to ensure that my airplane is safe, but also so that when something does break, which will inevitably happen, the plane is not down for months waiting, because that is time that I will not be making money. I have read it is a good idea to have a back up plane just in case, so that is something I plan to keep an ear open for, but am not going to wait on to get started.
I am aware of the additional inspections required with using the plane as a trainer such as the 100 hour inspection. Another reason I am leaning towards the Cherokee is that my instructor said his 100 hours were essentially the same cost as an Annual so he got a fresh Annual every 100 hours. It seems like a good way to ensure a little more safety and reliability. I also intend to do my own oil changes, and as much owner maintenance as possible. There will be a little learning to do there, but I know it is well within my realm of learning from what I can understand.
Insurance is one area I feel like I am a little more in the dark. I haven’t reached out to any companies yet since I felt I was a little far out from executing, but will do so upon my return. I hesitate to even guess what it will cost and I realize there are a ton of different variables. I put $3,000 a year when I was estimating costs, but I also know insurance has been going up significantly recently. I would love to hear who you go with, or places I should start my search.
From the business side itself, I feel like it should be relatively straightforward. I intend to create an LLC to hold everything in and protect my personal assets. I also know I will need to get a business license and a tax number and all of that fun stuff. I’m sure every state has its unique quirks and Nevada is no different.
As for how to attract students, I have a few already that I have talked to that are interested in learning that I work with in the Guard. I feel like there will always be a relatively steady flow of students there, but I also think I will need more than just that to sustain the operation. One of the other football coaches expressed some interest so I may have another opening there. I also intend to increase my social media presence, and maybe even take out a few targeted ads there to create some buzz. Word of mouth seems like my best friend, though I know I can’t always count on it. That is why it is incredibly important to put out a solid product and provide the type of training environment that people want to come to. There are surprisingly not very many flight schools in the Reno area.
From a cost perspective I am planning to charge slightly less than the one major flight school that is at the international airport, about 20 minutes away. This is not to undercut them, but I am aware their planes are newer and have more bells and whistles. Things that I would love to have someday, but are also not necessary, especially with my focus being on new pilots. I also will charge slightly less for my instructor time. Again, not to undercut them, but because I don’t have as much experience. I also don’t have a lot of the same overhead costs as them so I can afford to be a little more generous in my pricing.
Now you may be asking why I don’t just go work for that flight school and eliminate a lot of the hassle, and that may still be an option as I continue to research and determine what this is actually going to take. Probably the biggest reason is that I want the flexibility to do this on my time. This will not be my full-time job for the time being, and I need to be able to work around my work schedule, and not have to also work around the schedule of the flight school. Not working for them also gives me the opportunity to save the people I work with some money on their flight training. It will not be $100 cheaper per hour or anything crazy, but if I can save them a few hundred, or maybe even $1000 over the course of their training that seems like a good thing to do.
I also really want to own my own airplane. I want to have the freedom it provides, and weirdly enough I want to have to learn the more frustrating sides of aircraft ownership. I see it as an opportunity to further my understanding of one more facet of the industry. I would love for this to be a part of my life for as long as I can still fly, but also realize I don’t know what my future holds. This just seems like the right time, and a great opportunity to chase one more dream, and help other people in chasing theirs.
So, what am I forgetting? Where am I being delusional? What pitfalls should I look out for?
If there is one thing I know about the aviation community it is that we are not afraid to share our opinions, and I welcome your thoughts on anything I talked about, and more importantly, the things I am missing. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say.