PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Flying Club/tuition shuts down in Aberdeen
Old 21st Jul 2008, 07:22
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Golf Alpha Whisky
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Scotland
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Signatures price increase has been a major contributor but I also have to say other factors have contributed equally if not more so. I learned at Aberdeen Flying club pre Flight Academy and it was a buzzing organisation with a full time receptionist at the desk, half a dozen instructors with at least two on duty nearly all the time. Weekends were wall to wall bookings for 2 C152's and a C172 both for tuition and gift vouchers.

The Flight Academy fiasco is well documented but even they tried to run it as a club with dedicated instructors and a receptionist.

Grampian basically delayed the inevitable taking over from Flight Academy butr never really established the organisation as a flying club. Although initially there was someone to take bookings etc this seemed to be on a casual basis and gradually it became more and more difficult to get an instructor. The web based booking system they had was excellent for PPL's who hire and I used them quite a bit during the last year for rental of the Warrior. However given the reduction of any structure as a club to zero it has become difficult if not impossible to get any training and Gift Vouchers often having to wait some time for an instructor to get their flight. In addition quite a few of the regular renters have joined groups removing that income stream. Throw the recent weather into the mix and suddenly the Signature cost becomes a major factor with little income.

Their email mentions that they have managed to operate in profit until the last quarter but flying out of ABZ in another synidicate I can see how infrequently the Warrior is flown these days and it seems that with little income stream closure was inevitable.

I just hope this does not spell the beginning of the end for GA in Aberdeen - as well as being a terrific place to fly around, the training and experience that you get flying in this environment is excellent.
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