Posts Tagged ‘California flight schools’

Flight Schools Under Attack in Santa Monica, California

Saturday, March 26th, 2011
learn to fly sign

Santa Monica Flight Schools Fight to Stay In Business

At least five flight schools in Santa Monica are under attack from members of Los Angeles City Council. A resolution was recently introduced that would allow lobbyists in Washington to press for legislation to close flight schools and alter flight plans. Complaints from residents about noise are being used in the effort by council members Janice Hahn and Bill Rosendahl.

While the council members seem to be targeting the flight schools in the Santa Monica area right now, it is believe the ultimate goal of the council members is to close the airport. The initial goal is to force the Federal Aviation Administration to force flight schools in certain areas to close or alter flight plans. Changes, if implemented, would not just affect California, but flight schools throughout the United States.

Officials in Santa Monica have said that closure of the airport used by flight schools there is a possibility. Those representing flight training and pilot training schools in Santa Monica contend that the LA City Council members have no first-hand knowledge of the aviation training industry and do not realize the impact of what they are doing.

The Santa Monica Municipal Airport has a long history in the area. The facility was built in the early 1920s and is one of the oldest still operating on the West Coast. Douglas Aircraft was once housed at the facility until a move to Long Beach. Flight and pilot schools in the area have helped many aspiring pilots receive the training necessary to attain their license to work as a commercial pilot or elsewhere in the aviation industry.

The airport in Santa Monica has become a popular location for use by private jet owners due to its proximity to Malibu and Beverly Hills. Approximately 105,000 planes depart from the airport each year, which is about 285 flights per day. Rosendahl asserts that the airport poses threats to the residents in the area. Rosendahl is among those pushing for a change in flight paths of planes originating from the airport.

Currently departing aircraft fly over the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. There is a potential for crossing paths with flights heading out of Los Angeles International Airport. Rosendahl is suggesting that aircraft make a 40-degree turn to the north after taking off from the airport.

This change in flight direction would put aircraft directly over some residential neighborhoods in Santa Monica. Stuart Cook, who owns an aviation school in Santa Monica, believes that the residents in the Los Angeles neighborhoods the LA city council members are allegedly trying to protect knew about the airport prior to moving in.

In January of 2009, two people were killed when an aerobatic plane crashed at the airport’s west end. In August of 2009, a pilot trying to crash land a single-engine plane died at the airport. In 2010, a commercial pilot crashed shortly after takeoff.

Those representing flight schools in the area counter charges that flight school students engage in dangerous maneuvers, pointing out that fatalities involved mostly experienced pilots. The airport currently has an agreement with the city to remain in operation until 2014. It remains to be seen what the future of the airport will be after that time.

Source: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2011/mar/21/dark-skies-flight-schools/

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California Flight Schools Could Be Saved By New Bill

Saturday, March 12th, 2011
map of California

New bill could protect California flight schools from excessive fees and costs

The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 was passed to protect students in all privately owned postsecondary schools from loss of tuition paid before classes started. This is a trend in many states and the federal government. There are similar laws for flight schools under consideration in Arizona and Florida, two states that attract for-profit flight schools with their balmy climates suitable for many hours of flight instruction.

The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 was recognized by California flight schools and flight instructors as a source of regulatory paperwork, filing, inspections and other requirements which would overwhelm individual flight instructors and flight school operators. The California State legislature introduced Senate Bill 619 to correct some of burdens the original act imposed on instructors and flight schools. Schools and instructors who did not collect tuition, fees and other expenses before instruction started were given a temporary waiver earlier. Senate Bill 619 should correct these burdens before the waiver expires.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a group representing the interests of general aviation, played a key role in getting the temporary waiver passed. AOPA is currently working with California flight schools, instructors and other interested general aviation partners to pass S. B. 619 before July 1, 2011, the temporary waiver’s expiration date. John Pfeiffer, AOPA’s regional representative for California predicts success for this goal thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties.

One major objection to the Private Postsecondary Education Act is it does not allow flight schools and instructors to collect “block time fees”. This is a common practice for flight instructors, schools and fixed based operators to give students extra credit on their account in exchange for a large upfront payment. For example, a student pays $1000.00 toward flight lesson fees and is given credit for $1,100.00, a 10 percent bonus for the prepayment. Since flight training is expensive and can burn through cash rapidly, all parties benefit from this arrangement.

The other objection was the duplicity of regulations generated by the act. Flight instruction is already regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration and many of the states rules overlapped the Federal Aviation Regulations in regard to training, inspection and paperwork requirements.

Click here to search flight schools in California.

Sources:

http://www.aopa.org/
http://www.avweb.com/

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Update: California Flight Schools Regulations Delayed

Sunday, October 24th, 2010

A delay of costly new regulations on flight training providers in California has been approved.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that will push back the implementation of new regulations on California’s Flight Schools. The next step in dealing with these controversial new regulations is the development of a permanent fix.

After a failed attempt to include a delay of the regulations in another bill, legislators added it to a package of trailer bills that was added to the state budget which the governor signed on October 19th. This will delay the regulations, originally introduced in the California Private Postsecondary Act of 2009, until July 1, 2011, giving interest groups and legislators time to develop a more workable set of regulations.

“This bill signing marks an important day for GA in California as it will keep countless future pilots in the air and, importantly, keep thousands of instructors, mechanics, and other aviation personnel working in this troubled economy,” said AOPA Director of State Government Affairs Mark Kimberling. “AOPA—and our allies—will continue to move forward aggressively to see this issue through to the completion.”

The act, introduced in 2009, is intended to protect postsecondary students from being taken advantage of by for-profit education providers. Unfortunately, its broad-sweeping regulations are likely to wreak financial havoc with flight schools which are typically smaller and less financially gifted than other education providers. Now that those regulations have been delayed, interest groups must focus on developing a new set of regulations that will appropriately balance the intent of the California Private Postsecondary Act of 2009 and the financial needs of the affected flight schools.

This is an big but not altogether unexpected development on this issue. It is important that interest groups, legislators, and the flight training institutions work together to find a set of regulations that will protect students without devastating the flight training providers. Hopefully by July of 2011, those involved will have created a system whereby future pilots will never lose money if their flight school goes out of business, otherwise it is unlikely that the legislators will further delay the original regulations.

For more information on flight training and choosing the right school, check out our Flight Training Resource Center or find flight training near you.

Sources: Calif. flight training industry looks to long-term reg fix
This article was written by Matthew Everett, a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.

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California Flight Training – An Ideal Environment

Monday, October 18th, 2010

Traveling for flight training? Consider California.

Are you considering traveling to complete your flight training? Maybe your home isn’t located in an area that is conducive to training or you don’t live near a flight school. Whatever the reason, traveling for flight training is often the best way to save money and time.

After deciding to travel for training, you might wonder where to travel. In a series of new articles, we will investigate some of the more popular locations for training. In the first article, we investigate what makes California an ideal location for flight training. We found that California, the third largest state in the US, is blessed with a climate and diverse geography that create an ideal training environment. Find out more at California Flight Training – Climate, Diverse Geography Create Flight School Mecca.

This article was written by Matthew Everett, a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com.

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CA Governor Vetoes Flight School Bill

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

An effort to fix costly flight training regulations in California has failed.

Portions of Assembly Bill 1889 unrelated to flight schools caused California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger veto the bill. The bill would have given flight schools a reprieve on costly new flight training regulations imposed by the California Private Postsecondary Act of 2009.

The veto has not shut down efforts to address the regulations and represents only one of many legislative efforts launched by organizations like AOPA. Another item that AOPA hopes to utilize to correct the controversial legislation is the California state budget. AOPA seeks to insert language imposing a moratorium on the costly new flight training regulatory fees.

“AOPA has been working on this issue for many months—and we have engaged our members to assist through calls to action,” said AOPA Vice President of Airports and State Advocacy Greg Pecoraro. “We had hoped to avoid this veto, but we knew it was a possibility and have been planning for it.”

Assembly Bill 1889 was vetoed because of labor provisions that would force the state, which is already struggling financially, to hire new employees. These staffing requirements are unrelated to the flight training regulations. The veto was not unexpected by AOPA who proposed other tactics such as another bill and including the language in the state budget. According to Pecoraro the legislature strongly supports fixing the new flight training regulations, it is just a matter of finding the right fix.

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Sources: CA flight training industry unfazed by Schwarzenegger veto
This article was written by Matthew Everett, a private pilot, aviation writer, and frequent contributor to AviationSchoolsOnline.com. You can follow him on twitter @leaving_tf or find his blog at http://leavingterrafirma.com

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California Flight Schools Face New Challenges

Thursday, May 20th, 2010
By Kyle Garrett – AviationSchoolsOnline.com

Some California flight schools could learn their fate in a June 7th hearing in Sacramento. The hearing is scheduled to hash out exactly how to apply the California Private Postsecondary Act of 2009, a law passed last fall, to flight school operations. The law is designed to protect students attending postsecondary shools from financial loss should the school close or become unable to fulfill its obligation to the students.

According to an AOPA Online article published on May 19th, 2010, uncertainty exists on exactly how California law makers will apply the statue to the various types of flight school operations including FAA Approved Part 141 schools, Part 61 schools, and private CFIs who operate their own businesses in either rental, pilot-owned, or CFI-owned aircraft.

The law calls for “approved” schools to pay a $5,000 initial fee, followed by a $1,000 annual fee, and finally to pay .75% of yearly flight training revenues into the program. The issue appears to be in determining which flight training operations are “approved”, and therefore subject to the new regulations and fees, and which aren’t. The AOPA article states that only FAA Part 141 schools will be burdened with the new obligations, but others, especially independent CFIs, are not so sure.

For more information…

read the AOPA Online article
Jetwhine.com blog

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