CREATION OF A FLIGHT SCHOOL

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Oscar Tovar

Filing Flight Plan
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Blackjack76
hello to all friends from heaven, I have been reading during the last days several posts on the page and I really like the website a lot. for this reason I wanted to write to you looking for help to clarify some doubts that I have.

It is my desire to invest in any aeronautical issue in Florida, I am a pilot and I know very well the regulations of my country, unlike the FAA regulations. I have thought about creating a part 61 flight school but I do not know the minimum requirements to do so, I have considered the option of buying one plane and having another one through leaseback. I have tried a few numbers and it may be beneficial but I am not clear about the legal establishment of a school.
I know that it is very important to hire advisers and consultants but first of all I would like to know if it is possible or not, how complex it would be to start and then whether to make the decision.
I would like to read them and take into account the extensive experience that all of you have.

It is important for me to know your opinions, I would be very grateful for it.
 
There are no special requirements for a Part 61 school. The airport probably has Minimum Standards for Operation. Existing flight schools may not be happy about your competition so make sure to have a conversation with the airport manager as early as possible.
 
Thank you very much for your answer, it is clear that the coordination with the airport must be made in order to operate and of course I will follow your advice to make contact. As I was telling you, it is a premature idea but already somewhat structured and I love reading that part 61 has no major inconvenience to start
 
Requirements for creating an FAA Part 61 school:
1) Cash. Lots of it. Or a very good line of credit.
2) CFIs that are very good teachers. Just because you passed the CFI exam doesn't mean you're a good teacher.
3) See #1.
 
murphey said:
Requirements for creating an FAA Part 61 school:
1) Cash. Lots of it. Or a very good line of credit.
2) CFIs that are very good teachers. Just because you passed the CFI exam doesn't mean you're a good teacher.
3) See #1.
Click to expand...

Thank you, in my country a minimum of 150,000 dollars is required by law, do you know if in the United States there is any minimum financial support by law?
 
Good luck. If I understand the current economic environment correctly, right now there's a worker shortage, an airplane shortage and inflation. Starting a new business will be interesting.
 
You say you want to "invest in an aeronautical issue" in Florida. Are you thinking about investing in a current flight school or starting one new?
Oscar Tovar said:
Thank you, in my country a minimum of 150,000 dollars is required by law, do you know if in the United States there is any minimum financial support by law?
Click to expand...

There is not.
 
Doc Holliday said:
You say you want to "invest in an aeronautical issue" in Florida. Are you thinking about investing in a current flight school or starting one new?


There is not.
Click to expand...
Doc Holliday said:
You say you want to "invest in an aeronautical issue" in Florida. Are you thinking about investing in a current flight school or starting one new?


There is not.
Click to expand...
Doc Holliday said:
You say you want to "invest in an aeronautical issue" in Florida. Are you thinking about investing in a current flight school or starting one new?


There is not.
Click to expand...

Really more than investing is creating, I want to start a new school, in fact in my country I advised the creation of one a few years ago. but the conditions are different and I think it is easier there than in Colombia
 
Yes, easier here for sure.

You better investigate insurance. Also, the planes will need to be maintained, so you need to investigate that as well.
 
Doc Holliday said:
Yes, easier here for sure.

You better investigate insurance. Also, the planes will need to be maintained, so you need to investigate that as well.
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yes, i have seen thats planes.
I consider that the comments have been of great help to me, and I will begin to move forward with the issue of local consultancies, search for an airport, office and home for the students that I plan to focus on Latino students I think at a competitive price and good conditions, honesty and collaborative environment can be a good business
 
You need an airplane. You need an instructor.

You will need to perform 100-hour inspections on the airplane if you provide the instructor also. Do not fail to do this, or the FAA will become your new worst enemy when they find out.

If you are training non-US students, you will need to go through the TSA approval process.

That's about it for legal requirements. Seriously. "A dude and his cherokee" can be a part 61 flight school here.

===

You should also consider strongly: commercial/flight school insurance. This will run close to $10,000 per year per plane if you cover hull (damage to the airplane). If you are running leasebacks, you should cover hull. The airport may require you to have insurance if you base your plane there. Others don't care.

You might want a relationship with a maintenance shop. You will be giving them a LOT of cash. Also they are very busy these days, so negotiation a bulk rate will be difficult. You may prefer to hire your own when you get busy enough. Then you will need a hangar.

You might want a relationship with a fuel provider. You should negotiate a bulk rate with them or pre-purchase truckload volumes.

You might want a classroom or office. This will make you go through the airport approval "process". Each airport is like it's own little country, with it's own stupid little rules and stupid little dictators. Some will obstruct or place requirements on you. Some will cash your check happily and leave you alone.

Leasebacks are guaranteed great for you and might be great for the owner too. I could make an argument that your entire fleet should be leaseback if you can manage it.

The very high quality operators tend to do well. The very low quality operators tend to do well. Everyone in the middle gets squished. That's at least been the pattern I have seen. You may have a special niche with your student population.

Good luck. It's a very difficult business. Plan on no more than 5% gross margin. GROSS. Over time if you are making money, just put it in the bank and wait. The planes will be along soon with some fresh hell to collect it from you. :D

$0.02.
 
Oscar Tovar said:
Thank you, in my country a minimum of 150,000 dollars is required by law, do you know if in the United States there is any minimum financial support by law?
Click to expand...
Not by law, but you're looking at $50K minimum, I'd guess, if you want to start with one plane, insurance, a place to do business, advertising, etc...
 
wow what excellent recommendations, I had already taken some into account and others not. The new thing for me is the insurance issue for such a high value, I agree with you that the best strategy is leaseback.
 
There are already many flight schools in Florida, plus university programs. So, a few questions might be in order.

1) Why do you want to open a flight school?
2) Why Florida?
3) What will be different about your school to set it apart from the many others? Why will students choose you over your competitors?
4) What will you do to attract CFIs to work for you instead of other schools?
5) With only one (maybe two) planes, how will you sustain your business when a plane is down for maintenance or a 100 hour inspection?
 
If I'm reading this right, you need to bank 150 AMU's to start a flight school in Columbia? Doesn't sound so bad for a venture of that magnitude. What else is wrong with flight ops in Columbia? Inquiring minds want to know. Columbia would seem to be a easy sell for airplanes. Lots of mountains and crap roads can make it hard to get anywhere. Aircraft get around all that.
 
steingar said:
If I'm reading this right, you need to bank 150 AMU's to start a flight school in Columbia? Doesn't sound so bad for a venture of that magnitude. What else is wrong with flight ops in Columbia? Inquiring minds want to know. Columbia would seem to be a easy sell for airplanes. Lots of mountains and crap roads can make it hard to get anywhere. Aircraft get around all that.
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I believe, from the second paragraph of his first post, he’s trying to start a flight school in Florida. Florida has almost as many flight school planes in the air as it has mosquitoes in the air.
 
Half Fast said:
I believe, from the second paragraph of his first post, he’s trying to start a flight school in Florida. Florida has almost as many flight school planes in the air as it has mosquitoes in the air.
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NO **** Sherlock, I was interested in why he didn't want to start one in his native land, which probably needs it more. Like I said, 150 AMUs really doesn't sound so steep considering the business he's getting into.
 
Lots of good advice, I'll resist duplicating it just to try and show how smart I am :).

What I can add is the idea that you don't jump in and start a school. First, investigate the market. Spend a year giving flight instruction yourself with one plane - figure out how it all works. Maybe even work for a flight school to figure out how it works (suggest doing this in a different, non competing area).

Research not only how it works, but how well it works. How do these schools make money, how do they not? Will a flight school provide enough return and cash flow for you to warrant your investment? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe there is a related business that is more fertile?
 
Half Fast said:
There are already many flight schools in Florida, plus university programs. So, a few questions might be in order.

1) Why do you want to open a flight school?
2) Why Florida?
3) What will be different about your school to set it apart from the many others? Why will students choose you over your competitors?
4) What will you do to attract CFIs to work for you instead of other schools?
5) With only one (maybe two) planes, how will you sustain your business when a plane is down for maintenance or a 100 hour inspection?
Click to expand...

Let me answer the questions, but not before expressing how happy I am to be able to interact with all of you, you are very collaborative, I love that

1. If I would like to open a school, I have always wanted to start my own business and I am passionate about aviation.
2. I choose Florida for several reasons, it is a state that we as Latinos like and there are many opportunities there, plus the weather is ideal for flying throughout the year.
3. I intend to offer is the possibility that the Latin market can have access to a more favorable cost to take this course, I know that there are many schools but I think I could find students interested in being able to fly with a cost below the local market . I don't know if you know but for a Latino pilot it is a very big plus to have the FAA license
4. I have not fully contemplated the CFI aspect, but I think I will have no problem looking for pilots who want to fly in my school, by the way I would like to know if to know how much a CFI is paid, I think it is for 60 dollars ?
5. Starting with two or three students, I think that one plane could cover the need of the other when maintenance is done. after maybe i will take other plane.

In any case, I accept any recommendation, the knowledge you have is invaluable and it helps me a lot.
 
steingar said:
If I'm reading this right, you need to bank 150 AMU's to start a flight school in Columbia? Doesn't sound so bad for a venture of that magnitude. What else is wrong with flight ops in Columbia? Inquiring minds want to know. Columbia would seem to be a easy sell for airplanes. Lots of mountains and crap roads can make it hard to get anywhere. Aircraft get around all that.
Click to expand...

Hello, this is the minimum in my country Colombia for a flight school as a minimum requirement 150 thousand dollars and two planes are required. Regarding commercial aviation issues, the creation of low-cost airlines is increasing, the market is growing. But regular aviation is dead here, very few customers for many planes, the same happens with helicopter aviation. is that we really have a problem with the devaluation of the local currency, everything is very expensive
 
steingar said:
NO **** Sherlock, I was interested in why he didn't want to start one in his native land, which probably needs it more. Like I said, 150 AMUs really doesn't sound so steep considering the business he's getting into.
Click to expand...

ok, I understand, several reasons, really for tax issues, airplanes are extremely expensive, an hour of flight of a cessna in a school can be close to 250 dollars in a cessna 152, the economy is complex and many prefer to pay in the United States Additionally, the bureaucratic issue is very complicated, an operation certificate can take about 2 years in which you must already have all the infrastructure without knowing if they will authorize you. And lastly, I love the United States, God bless America
 
WDD said:
Lots of good advice, I'll resist duplicating it just to try and show how smart I am :).

What I can add is the idea that you don't jump in and start a school. First, investigate the market. Spend a year giving flight instruction yourself with one plane - figure out how it all works. Maybe even work for a flight school to figure out how it works (suggest doing this in a different, non competing area).

Research not only how it works, but how well it works. How do these schools make money, how do they not? Will a flight school provide enough return and cash flow for you to warrant your investment? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe there is a related business that is more fertile?
Click to expand...
Yes, I am currently carrying out market studies, conducting business intelligence and analyzing many aspects, if the project is to be carried out in the future if I plan to perfect my knowledge and give the instruction on my own and help the business cash flow.
 
Oscar Tovar said:
ok, I understand, several reasons, really for tax issues, airplanes are extremely expensive, an hour of flight of a cessna in a school can be close to 250 dollars in a cessna 152, the economy is complex and many prefer to pay in the United States Additionally, the bureaucratic issue is very complicated, an operation certificate can take about 2 years in which you must already have all the infrastructure without knowing if they will authorize you. And lastly, I love the United States, God bless America
Click to expand...
Thank you. It really is a pity about Columbia. A robust GA culture there could be a huge boon for the country for the reasons I outlined.
 
I’m curious, why Florida and not Arizona or another location that offers more reliable weather for training? It’s really a question on the apparent desirability of the location to attract students.
 
How many US students have you take to licensure so far?
 
Initial Fix said:
I’m curious, why Florida and not Arizona or another location that offers more reliable weather for training? It’s really a question on the apparent desirability of the location to attract students.
Click to expand...

I will review the Arizona issue, because in that case I have to conduct a market study of Latinos who are willing to fly in that state, the stigma that Latinos should fly in Florida is deeply rooted, but it is a paradigm that would be interesting to break. .... I will study the state and that possibility thanks
 
4RNB said:
How many US students have you take to licensure so far?
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no, I have not. I am researching the business how it works. And by the way, I take advantage of this post to request the information that they may know about the TSA and the process that I must follow to obtain authorization for my student
 
Does anyone know about the tax that a flight school must pay in Florida? What organizational structure should LLC have?
 
Some of the questions you are asking (organizational structure, as an example) have significant legal and tax implications. While you might start with advice from comments on a public message board, if you are SERIOUS about this, I would go find a GOOD attorney, review what you plan to do, and make sure he sets you up properly. Yes, yes, I know attorneys cost money up front...but the proper legal advice at the beginning is important when something goes wrong 6 years in the future.
 
Oscar Tovar said:
Does anyone know about the tax that a flight school must pay in Florida? What organizational structure should LLC have?
Click to expand...

You need an attorney and an accountant. While this forum provides good advice, if you're wanting a business you need to start out on the right foot and get it done correctly and by professionals.
 
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