FSANA NEWS 

Jessica Cox to Speak at 2016 Flight School Operators Conference
  
Part of the work of any flight school is selling to customers the passion and enjoyment that flying brings those who become pilots. Few can say they have stepped up to the challenge of learning fly like Jessica Cox has, and she will be joining us at the conference to speak this year.

Jessica has overcome the adversity of being born without arms to learn to fly, along with many other accomplishments many would have assumed were things she would never do. As an inspiration to all of us in aviation, Jessica will share with us her experiences and outlook on life and how to overcome challenges. Flying is just one example for her, she has surpassed low initial expectations and her lessons from life are ones that flight training providers can share with customers as we challenge them to become a part of the next generation of pilots.

For more information about Jessica, click here or the picture to the right for her full biography.

This is an addition to this year's conference you won't want to miss and a great reason to book your hotel accommodations soon.

There are many more reasons to join us for this year's conference, and you can browse more information on this year's program for the event. Click here (PDF) to see the conference program. A printable registration form is included.
 
Lake Buena Vista's B Resort & Spa, an official Disney hotel, serves as the host for this year's event. FSANA encourages everyone to reserve their room now to take advantage of our conference rates. Conference discounted rates at the hotel are limited, and if you don't get your reservation now, they may sell out! For more information about the property, click here. To make reservations online, click here or call them directly at 800-248-7890.
 
NEW for 2016 ... on Tuesday, February 10, conference programming kicks in with a new members-only session at 1:00 pm followed by a new general session for all attendees starting at 2:30.

NEW for 2016 ... a special Guest Program for those who want to have their spouse, partner or friend join them during the conference. Highlights of the Guest Program are included in the conference information download. 

Sponsorship opportunities and exhibitor spaces are still available. If your business seeks flight training operators as customers, this is the perfect market to reach out. For more information about becoming a sponsor or exhibitorclick here.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 
 
A Look Back and Going Forward  
  
We are entering a fun and festive time with the Holidays rapidly approaching. Between now and the start of the New Year, there is so much to do and so little time to get everything accomplished.

While it can be a hectic time, it is always nice to take a moment to thank the support staff and our customers for being a part of our day to day lives. Almost everything in our world, even with all of the technology still requires us to have a sensitivity for people.

I have mentioned that "People fly Planes". It just so happens that in aviation, we call these people, "Pilots". Keeping the human as a higher priority is an important part of owning or managing a business.

Flight schools and businesses of all sizes and shapes should be deploying several important management skill functions in order to advance their business models. Flight Schools with one or twenty-one aircraft need to be conscious of these core business fundamentals. 
  • Planning
  • Organizing
  • Staffing
  • Directing
  • Controlling 
The above fundamentals set the course for how every business will either advance, remain stagnant or fall back. Seize the moment and give thought to how you and your team can make improvements in process and systems which will ultimately lead to a stronger business model. 
 
At 
FSANA, we encourage people to understand that the industry segment we term flight training is not easy and requires dedication, focus and hard work. In 2015, the FSANA office has received at least one phone call every month from a person interested in either buying or starting a flight school. In some cases, the callers are not currently in the aviation industry. This is one of the many indicators of how people are viewing the flight training industry. I tell them that they can create a wonderful business however they will need to operate it like a business. 

It is an exciting time to be in the flight training industry. Many flight schools across the nation are reporting
increases in new student starts while also reporting a need for more flight instructors. All indications are that 2016 will continue to be a growth period for flight school owners, operators and managers.

I would like to take a moment and thank all of our members who support FSANA through our series of committees. Many of the programs that FSANA develops is accomplished with input and guidance from our members. Committees meet mostly telephonically as required. We try and not burden members, but we believe that member input is important.

Thanks to our members, supporting "Partners" and advertisers, we are honored to be able to continue to build the association. We estimate that FSANA members received over $15K in benefits and value added in 2015. That figure will continue to grow as we create new and exciting programs for our members.
 
We wish everyone a very joyous and happy holiday season and look forward to seeing you at our 2016 annual conference in Lake Buena Vista, Florida February 9-12, 2016. With safety at the forefront of all aspects of our wonderful industry, let us collaboratively continue to climb, go forward and advance the "The Business of Flight Training".  

Robert Rockmaker         
President & CEO
FSANA PROGRAMS
 
FSANA Pilot Career Bridge Program 
 
The Flight School Association is now in the planning phase for the new Pilot Career Bridge Program which will afford all FSANA member flight schools the opportunity to have their school connected with many of the Part 121 Air Carriers.

Many of the finest pilots in the air today got their start at local Part 61 or 141 flight schools across America. A special committee is planning to meet over the next 60 days to create the program. FSANA members are welcomed to the committee.
 
More information will be released in future eNewsletters. FSANA member flight schools will have access to the new program once it is launched in 2016.
FSANA NEWS

Drones Are Leading to New Student Pilot Starts

Reports continue to funnel into the FSANA office from flight schools that they are enrolling new customers who are seeking either the Sport or Private Pilot certificates. The customers are seeking the flight education as they anticipate the need to become a pilot if they intend to operate a commercial, line of sight (LOS) drone business.

FSANA is working to develop drone/UAS related programs that will become ports of entry for people interested in becoming drone operators. The drone/UAS industry will be another tool in the tool box for helping to grow the GA pilot population.

The FSANA 2016 annual flight school conference has a drone/UAS panel with industry experts who will help explain this new segment.  Fight schools can and are already playing a role in the evolution of this new industry segment. This industry is continuously evolving and many new developments are happening every week.

As an example, a leader in the drone industry, DJI, is partnering to help users avoid airspace in which drones are not supposed to be operated. "Geospatial Environment Online (GEO) will provide DJI drone users with up-to-date guidance on locations where flight may be restricted by regulation or raise safety concerns."


FSANA continues to work to stay in touch with changes in the drone industry and how it can affect and be an opportunity for flight training providers. We will continue to provide information in our publications and, don't forget, it will be a topic of discussion at the upcoming conference in February.  
MARKETING TIPS 

Does Every Flight School Need a Rock Star?
by Paula Williams

"I understand what you mean when you say that aviation companies need rock stars. I know how great it is to have celebrities like Rod Machado and John and Martha King. But I don't really want to be a rock star. I prefer to keep a low profile."

This phone call from a company followed our Networking workshop last week, and a previous article on our blog about reputation marketing, including celebrity CEOs like Richard Branson, Lynn Tilton, Elon Musk and Herb Kelleher.

I certainly understand that there are people who like to keep a low profile. John does security work for some clients, and comes from the very conservative military community. He is probably not happy about me writing about him as we speak. I've worked with people in law enforcement. There are people in witness protection programs. I've watched enough of Covert Affairs to understand that there are people who have strong reasons to keep a low profile.

One of our mentors in sales and marketing, the legendary Dan S. Kennedy, has admitted to a dislike of networking, speaking and the celebrity that goes along with it. He would just as soon have his assistant slide assignments under the door to him and not have to deal with people at all.

But, life is full of tradeoffs. Fame, at least among a very specific set of people, is the price we have to pay for successfully making sales.

Why?

Because people don't trust companies - and with good reason.

Companies have been responsible for very high-profile dastardly behavior - selling shoddy products, poor customer service, and downright deception.

An example case - a flight school known to students as Accessible Aviation International in Long Beach, California collected up to $55,000 from each of a dozen Indonesian students, all of whom arrived in the U.S. for training to find the flight school closed.

We're all too familiar, as consumers, with cases where we have a problem with a product and aren't able to locate a person or even a phone number to call to get the problem resolved.
While a person-to-person interaction, or even a firm handshake is no guarantee against fraud, poor quality products, or lack of support after the sale; aviation industry veterans always advise us to "know who you're dealing with so you don't get hung out to dry."

So, you don't necessarily need to be a "rock star" or celebrity, but you need to have three things: Authority, Credibility, and Expertise. Nobody just accidentally wakes up in the morning with these three things. There actually is a very methodical way of going about building it. And great reasons to do it.

Reputation Marketing, the ACE formula.

If you're not willing to publicly stand behind your product, how can you ask someone to put their hard-earned money (as well as, potentially, a whole lot of effort, their own reputation, and even the safety of their passengers and clients) by depending on your product?

So, when a potential client tells me "I want to keep a low profile," alarm bells start going off in my head. Of course, we always do a lot of research before we accept a new client, Some of the questions we ask - what is their reputation in the aviation community? Are they leaving a wake of unhappy customers or legal actions?

In some cases, they have a fantastic product and reputation, the founder, owner or other decision maker is simply shy.

That's fine, but it's time to make a decision.

You can keep a low profile, or you can use "ACE" reputation marketing tactics.

ACE marketing = Authority, Credibily & Expertise.

I don't remember where we first learned about ACE, I suspect it was Adam Witty of Advantage  Publishing.

The principle simply illustrates why we buy from people we "know," like and trust, even if we don't know them personally. It doesn't take someone who is charismatic or photogenic. BIll Gates is Microsoft's ACE, and his nerdy public persona works perfectly for his objectives - marketing computer software! What it takes is a willingness to "put yourself out there."

What having strong reputation marketing does for you:
  • Reduces objections* Shortens the sales cycle
  • Increases word-of-mouth mentions
  • Makes mention in industry publications more likely
ACE Marketing Checklist:

People in your industry don't hold elections to determine who the ACEs (or, "rock stars") are. There is a specific and deliberate formula to establish or improve your ACE marketing. Any of these activities and factors in your area of expertise help build your ACE marketing capability:
  • Being personally, visibly associated with your brand and your product in your advertisements and materials.* Public speaking appearances
  • Publishing articles
  • Publishing a book
  • Appearing at networking events
  • Membership in associations relevant to your brand
  • Being mentioned in industry magazines
  • Being mentioned in association with other major thought leaders in your field
  • Having a large social media following of people in your industry
  • Ensuring that your website, social media pages, news items or videos appear in the first few online search results for keywords associated with your area of expertise.
  • Advertising consistently in high-profile industry magazines that have a good reputation with your audience.
  • Having personal visual cues that are associated with you and your brand. Think about Richard Branson's famous blond hair, Steve Jobs' jeans and black turtlenecks, Bill Gates' glasses.
After an hour-long phone conversation with "Mr. Low Profile," and subsequent research, we came to the conclusion that this particular potential client was just not a good fit for ABCI.

Of course, ABCI has to keep up our own reputation intact by associating only with reputable brands and people. If a company is unwilling to put anyone forward as an "ACE," we see it as a sign that they lack the commitment to do what it takes to sell and stand behind their product or service.
TRAINING NEWS

New FAA Airman Certification Standards Page and Drafts for Instrument and Private Pilot Available 
 
The FAA has recently created a dedicated webpage for the new FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) that will become effective in the near future for training and testing pilots.

This page can be viewed at http://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs/

Included in the recent update were new updated draft versions of the Instrument and Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards (ACS) documents.

Flight training providers and instructors are recommended to review and become familiar with these documents as the FAA and Industry representatives work to finalize the future standards that will be implemented and will be required to be used when conducting airman testing.
FSANA NEWS


FSANA Webinars Coming in 2016...
 
In a continued effort bring more services to FSANA members and the aviation training provider community, we will be working to bring a series of webinars on a myriad of timely topics.

Webinars will be focused and provided by a team of professionals who are well qualified in their respective fields. Flight school owners, operators, managers, chief flight instructors and others who are responsible for the success of their flight training organization will have access to quality education. Most webinars will be for FSANA members. 
 

FSANA INFORMATION
 
FSANA Money-Back Guarantee

FSANA continues to create value for its members. Programs like AeroCamp are helping flight schools to create new revenue centers and attract customers, many who continue on to earn their first pilot certificate.

FSANA offers flight schools a money-back guarantee on their membership dues investment if the school operates at least one FSANA Aero program and does not generate enough profit to cover the cost of membership. Members are required to demonstrate that they have followed the FSANA program guidelines contained in the members-only toolkit associated with each program.

If you have not already looked into conducting one of our Aero programs at your flight school, now is the time. You can not loose!

FSANA INFORMATION
 
Becoming a FSANA "Partner"

FSANA is a growing and focused trade association that represents the interests of flight training providers. The membership is a group of motivated and successful business operations that provide flight training in both the United States and foreign countries. If your company or a company you know would like to support FSANA in its efforts, now is the time to become a "Partner."
 
Core platforms of FSANA include:
  • Helping flight training businesses operate successfully and profitably;
  • Increasing the pilot population;
  • Working with other aviation and aerospace industry associations and companies to promote quality flight training pipeline development;
  • Providing programs and services that will assist FSANA members to better serve their customers and local communities;
  • Promoting best practices in the flight training community;
  • Reducing the general aviation incident and accident rates;
  • Engaging both youth and adults to explore aviation and aerospace.
Becoming a FSANA "Partner" offers year-round brand exposure for your organization in both print and electronic platforms in multiple channels. 
 
To learn how to become a FSANA "Partner" please contact Debbie Sparks, director of Business Development at dsparks@fsana.com or 561-767-6826. 
 
 
Flight School Seeking Investment Capital
An  established  and successful Part 61 and 141 flight school is seeking $1M-3M investment capital for new enterprise start-up. Qualified parties please call 863-327-6880.
 
* * *
 
Flight School for Sale in Ohio
Interested in expanding your flight school or taking on a new location? How about buying a flight school for the first time? A flight training operation in Ohio may be the opportunity for which you are looking. 
The operation is a successful flight training business with two owned aircraft and multiple leaseback aircraft, a large client base, a FBO business and maintenance services.  The operation has simulators and operates both FAR Part 61 and 141 training curricula, is SEVP approved, has VA approval, and operates a PSI testing center.
Interested parties should Contact John Bonfiglio CPA at 440-461-6227.
 
 
We want feedback from the readers of this newsletter! Tell us what is important to you
as a school owner, manager or chief flight instructor. We will share comments received
in an upcoming edition of  Flight Schools News eMonthly Send your thoughts to info@fsana.com.
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in this publication

TRAINING NEWS LINKS
Medical Reform Moves Forward, but with Big Changes

Emirates Selects Cirrus SR22 for Pilot Training

Officially Unofficial Update on Cancellation of VA benefits for Private Pilot Training Under Contract

CAE Signs Training Agreements With Three Middle East Operators

GATE to Assess the Future of Flight Training

Flight Training Providers Gather at Redbird's Migration

FVTC Earns New Flight Training Certification

Wyoming Group Wants Training School to Reduce Pilot Shortage

Firm Breaks Ground Training Academy for Drone Pilots

AOPA Announces 2015 AV8RS Scholarship Recipients

CAE Responds to Airline Demands for More Flight Training

Parkland College Aviators Continue Illinois Program

Flight Schools Can Get Sims Via Pay-per-use Program

Why I Closed My Flight School After 9/11

[US Air Force] Cadet Research Project Designed to Improve Flight Training

Murfreesboro Aviation Recognized for its High Standard of Flight Training
Inviting the Best
Aircraft Operators
in the Business to
Join Our Network.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2016 FSANA International Flight School Operators Conference
Orlando Florida
Februay 9-12

Flight Training
Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C.
More information to be announced.
U.S. HOUSE AND SENATE

Find Your U.S. Congressman  

 

Find Your U.S. Senator 

 

U.S. House Aviation Subcommittee 

 

U.S. Senate Aviation Subcommittee 

 

US Senate Education Committee 

 

US House Committee on Education and the Workforce 

Click on images to download sample Aero program brochures
AeroCamp brochure
AeroParty brochure
AeroSolo brochure