Everyone that walks through our doors has 2 things in common -- (1) they've always been obsessed with airplanes and (2) they finally have some time to devote attention and resources towards learning how to fly them.
The COVID crisis has really put a spotlight on the time part of that equation. More flexible work schedules mean that you can still put in 16 hour days, but start/end times don't matter as much, just as long as the work gets done. If you wanted to sneak out to the airport for a flight lesson on Friday morning, that now becomes really do-able.
Also for many, the days of airline travel all week made personal flight lessons simply unrealistic and while we may return to that lifestyle sometime soon, it is not happening anytime really soon. That means there is a lot more time to get to the airport, which is a prerequisite for flying an airplane yourself.
We're also seeing some other unexpected but very cool trends:
- Spouses are becoming very interested in accompanying their partners on the journey, if not to take it all the way to pilot, then to at least learn basic aerodynamics, operations and how to land just in case the situation arises
- Teenagers dealing with the nuances of hybrid or at-home learning are also wanting to turn their passion for airplanes and their time spent on flight simulators into something more tangible and real, like actually physically flying an airplane
No matter your current situation and what COVID has done to upend your lifestyle, it is a unique time to learn how to fly. The benefits to your psyche, your outlook on life and your health are endless -- and these days, we all need to be a little more optimistic about things.
