At our monthly meeting it was decided that the time had come to call for expressions of interest from suitably qualified folk from the aviation community who may have an interest in running a commercially viable flying school for recreational aircraft at MKT Airfield. For those who are aware, the club and the school have been one for probably as long as the club has been in existence.

The advent of more complete reporting requirements means that the non-profit volunteer ethic of past puddle-jumping ultralight flying clubs could continue, but would be inevitably compromised by the increasing administrative requirements of the school function. A flying school operating from MKT would have some significant advantages over other locations. 26 years of operational history as a club and flying school carries a lot of brand equity. A formal call for expressions of interest to run the flying school from MKT will be advertised in the RA-Aus magazine, but feel free to contact the secretary TEFC with any preliminary questions you may have. markc@xsymetrix.com.au. These questions will be answered by the committee, existing flying school instructors or the owner of the airstrip. All discussions will be commercial in confidence unless mutually agreed otherwise.

It is important to note that the current arrangement works well and our CFI Phil Rofe and band of instructors that includes Ron Lawford, John Wauchope, Robert Orchard and Dave Eakins as CFI Trikes have trained and continue to safely train pilots in Drifters, trikes and Jabirus. Most of our instructors work for free. It is fair to say that some instructors may be happy to fly and train without charging, but completing extensive paperwork for free is not much fun for anyone.

The model of school management that is being advocated through the CASA/RA-Aus operational and technical requirements of schools suggests that a separated commerically run venture is a more astute way to proceed than to continue with club and flying school bundled as one entity.

Our club realises that this is the future and we are adapting to meet that future.

If you want to be a part of that future, contact us.

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