Aircraft leasing has been a business for many years.  The history of when exactly the first aircraft lease transaction occurred is a bit hard to determine, but we do know that Steve Udar-Hazy, the CEO of ILFC, brokered his first deal back in the late 1970’s for a Mexican Airline DC8.  Even after 40+ years, aircraft leasing is only widely known and understood in the commercial and business aircraft space.  Piston aircraft leasing is still somewhat unfamiliar to many, but is a financing option that should be discussed when a program or flight academy is considering their options for acquiring new aircraft.  

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Every year we pick a topic of importance in the industry and spend some time researching and developing an infographic to explain our findings.  An infographic is a simple and eye catching way to share and explain complex data.  If you have been following us for a while you probably have seen the infographic we published last year on the Return On Investment of a degree in aviation.  (If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out).  After chatting with some collegiate aviation programs I was pleasantly surprised to find out that many of them are using last years infographic as a recruiting tool for future students.  It makes sense; it is a good way to show the value you are actually getting from the massive loans you take out as a student. 

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The University of Phoenix launched its online campus in 1989; years before schools like Harvard, Yale and Stanford started their online programs.  Today over 4.6 million students are taking online courses, a number that is projected to exceed 18 million by 2014.  96% of colleges and universities have followed in Phoenix’s footsteps and launched their own online programs in one or all of their disciplines, yet their are still many who do not believe in the effectiveness of an education facilitated online.  Back in July we held a discussion on higher education with a room filled with professors and deans from collegiate aviation.  At the start of the discussion the room was overwhelmingly against the idea that an online education program could be beneficial to both the students and the school, especially in the world of collegiate aviation. 

By now it is pretty much a guarantee that the 1500 hour rule is going to go into effect in 2013.  At this point it would be highly unlikely that the FAA is going to reverse or change their decision.  December 13, 2012 is also coming.  Five years ago on December 13^th the FAA decided to extend the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots to age 65.  That means that the wave of mandatory retirements is about to begin.  

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Hurricane season is upon us and we soon may feel the impact from this years first hurricane to make landfall in Florida.  Florida is one of the greatest states to fly in with nearly 360 days a year of good weather.  For this reason many flight training programs and aircraft owners choose to locate themselves in the sunshine state.  With Hurricane Isaac, and potential others this year, heading towards the coast of Florida we thought it relevant to provide some tips on preparing your plane for an approaching Hurricane or Tropical Storm.  

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Power By The Hour has long been a product reserved only for turbine aircraft in the aviation space. To clarify, Power By The Hour refers to the maintenance/insurance product nearly all commercial airlines, corporate jet owners and aircraft lessors use to protect and accrue for engine maintenance. For every hour the aircraft flies, a certain monetary value is paid in return for the protection of any scheduled or  unscheduled maintenance.  Essentially anything from engine overhauls to bird strikes are covered under the program. 

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Today we proudly announce the launch of our first online discussion center for collegiate aviation!  Our discussion center, which allows all visitors to post ideas and vote on topics that they feel are important, spun out of our round table dinner discussion on “The Meaning Of Disruption In Higher Education,” which we held at this summer's semi-annual Aviation Accreditation Board International Conference. Click here to read the full press release. 

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Depending on who you ask, the student pilot dropout rate in the United States is anywhere from 50% to 70%, one of the highest among all nations.  If we take into account the looming pilot shortage and implementation of the new 1500 hour rule, losing half of the incoming class before they graduate seems like a bit of a concern.  It also seems like a great place to start when thinking about a strategy to address the shortage of qualified pilots (spoiler alert: follow up blog post on the way). 

Technology is changing at a rapid pace, which is pushing many other industries to adapt or face the growing threat of new innovative alternatives.  One of those industries ripe for innovation is higher education. 

We are in an age of information overload, which at times can make staying current on the latest happenings in flight training news a bit of a challenge. With so many different mediums and outlets for collecting our news it can be overwhelming and down right challenging to find quality information on a daily basis.