Steve Kroop at Flytec USA <> writes:

The closure of a major flight park is, of course, disturbing but there is a much bigger story here than Marty closing AeroSports. This is the second closure within a week! I spent some time on the phone with Marty yesterday discussing his reasons. It is not my place to go into them here, not that there is any secret, I just do not want to mischaracterize his reasons. In general, besides the obvious obstacles for flight park owners I see three main areas that cause additional angst for them:

Lack of support/appreciation from customers

Staff that are unreliable and unprofessional

Governmental regulation (Sport pilot)

Fight park operators are not in it to get rich, most of them do it out of their love of the sport. If we are to avoid the loss of more flight parks the flying population must recognize this and conduct themselves accordingly. In my tenure at Quest we witnessed the complaining/whining pilot type and I can say that it leaves you with the feeling “why am I doing this, hard work, little or no pay, high liability exposure and all pilots do is complain”.

Generally these are the same pilots that seldom buy their equipment from the flight park. Rather they will buy from anyone that will sell it to them cheaper. They simply are so self absorbed, short sighted or spiteful to realize that the flight park needs equipment sales to stay in business; tow fees do not come close to covering operating expenses. There are pilots that show up that “get it”. They pay the going rates without fuss and are eager to pitch-in. Sadly there are not enough of you but you are appreciated!

With respect to the staff, they also need to recognize that flight parks are not lucrative. Most operators/owners barely eek out a modest living, some not even that (they subsidize the flight park out of their own pocket). This means, instead of complaining that there is not enough business or that you are not making enough money, look for ways to bring in more business and to make the operation more profitable. As the flight park does better so will the staff.

Staff (and pilots) also need to realize that flight park owners operate with huge liability risk and in peril of financial ruin. Staff should do whatever they can to assist the owner in minimizing this risk (e.g., fly responsibly, do what you can to make others do the same, make sure waivers are signed, that all pilots are current USHPA members, etc.).

As if unappreciative pilots and irresponsible staff are not enough to send flight park owners packing there is now the new FAA Sport Pilot rules. These changes have a huge financial impact on the flight park owners with respect to the tugs and tug pilots. Ask yourself why would a flight park want to take on this added financial and regulatory burden given the environment that they operate in.

If we want avoid the loss of more flight parks I urge pilots and staff to change the way that they look at flight parks, from what the flight park can do for you, to what you can do to help the flight park.

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