We are encouraged but cautious when we learn of impending entrepreneurship in the aviation world. We know that the odds of success for startups are not outstanding, but for those who do their homework and find the right niche, they improve. After all, we know that there is money in aviation—we put a lot of it there.
We’ve noted that in spite of downturns in many segments of general aviation, the last year has been good for a lot of flight schools—we are getting reports that many are having their best year in convenient memory. That has also caused us to hear from CFIs who are exploring starting a one-airplane flight school at airports where there is currently no flight training.