Your Aviation Place!

Your Aviation Place!

When I purchased Air Orlando Aviation in October 2002, I thought Your Aviation Place! captured what I wanted the company to become.

To me it means that we intend to meet your aviation needs if you live in or visit the Orlando area by providing you:

• The best pilot training experience -- for those that intend to fly just for fun, for business, or as a professional
• Access to top quality, well maintained rental aircraft for training and travel purposes
• A fully stocked pilot shop
• Top drawer aircraft maintenance

The phrase not only captures what we do, but how we do it. It means to me that we will approach our business with your perspective in the forefront.

Bottom line, we want this to be the place you come to first to be involved with general aviation! We want to provide what you need and want the way you need it and want it to be provided.

How has this notion of being Your Aviation Place! impacted our company? It affects every practice and policy in our company, but to give you some key examples, it is why we:

• Have a full motion Motus flight simulator that allows us to do a better job with your IFR and multi-engine training
• Hire flight instructors that are interested in pilot training as a profession and provide them with the supervision and tools to be successful for you
• Have a diverse fleet of today's technology aircraft available for you - including the latest and best from Cirrus, Diamond, and Cessna
• Insist that each aircraft will be clean and maintained only to the highest standards
• Use the Schweizer helicopter based on its extraordinary safety record
• Offer aerobatic and upset training in the Super Decathlon aircraft
• Have invested in the facilities, training and tools for our maintenance staff to be second to none

Your Aviation Place! was intended to communicate these ideals in just a few words. Hopefully, we are delivering on this promise to you.

Ft. Lauderdale Water Taxi/Bus

For a great day trip, we enjoy flying to Ft. Lauderdale, riding the Water Taxi/Bus past all of the wonderful yachts and homes on the inter-coastal waterway, and enjoying dinner at the 15th Street Fisheries, one of the best seafood restaurants I have ever experienced.

The most convenient plan is to land at KFLL, park at Jetscape, the FBO on the NE corner of the airport, ask for a ride to the 15th Street Fisheries about 3 miles away, make a reservation for dinner, and jump on the Water Taxi/Bus on the dock beside the restaurant.

Spend the day exploring the sites from the water, shopping on Las Olas Blvd., and head back to the 15th Street Fisheries for dinner. After dinner, the night flight back up the coast and then inland to Orlando is one of the prettiest you will ever experience. (You are night current, aren’t you??)

Jekyll Island GA

K09J, Jekyll Island GA located 35 nm NNE of Jacksonville, offers a nice runway with ample safe aircraft parking within easy walking distance of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. The hotel offers wonderful restaurants and accommodations in the hotel or nearby cottages.

You can tour the island on bicycles or smart cars, tour restored cottages formerly built pre-WWII by America's wealthiest families, enjoy the beach, or play golf and tennis.

My wife loves the island's many photo opportunities. It's a great place to take your spouse for a day trip or a romantic weekend get-a-way. For more info, see http://www.jeykllisland.com/ and http://www.jekyllclub.com/ .

St. Petersburg, FL

KSPG, a.k.a. Albert Whitted Airport, is located near downtown St. Petersburg on Florida's Gulf Coast. KSPG offers pilots easy access to the quaint shops and restaurants located in the downtown district.

The St. Pete Pier, Salvador Dali museum and world class accommodations at the Vinoy Hotel are all within walking or biking distance of KSPG.

If you like Spanish food, I think the Columbia Restaurant still serves the best you can find. It's located on the top of the St. Pete Pier easy walking distance just to the north of KSPG.

Each Spring, the St. Pete Grand Prix is held nearby, with a portion of the airport utilized as the race track. Flying into and out of Whitted can be a real treat as the runways are directly adjacent to Tampa Bay, giving everyone on board spectacular views of the entire Bay Area. A new FBO facility has recently been completed offering ample and safe aircraft parking and excellent service.

When flying to Albert Whitted, I recommend planning your route direct to the PIE VOR and then south to KSPG. Contact Tampa approach for Class B clearance and usually they will vector you directly over the east-west runway at Tampa International at 1500 to 4500 feet. Over the Causeway just to the west of KTPA, ATC will turn you south over the PIE VOR and into the KSPG airport area.

Approaching the airport from the north, the KSPG Tower may advise you to use caution to avoid any masts of sailboats moving in or out of the St Pete Yacht Club or may close runway 18-36 if a cruise ship is moving into or out of the terminal just to the south of the airport. (Honest, both have happened to me.)

When leaving, the route is usually just reversed.

I try to avoid flying across the bay east to west because high speed military traffic moves into and out of MacDill AFB over Ruskin and Tampa Bay. When I have done so, it has been with Class B service from Tampa approach.

Travel to Treasure Cay or Marsh Harbour in the Abacos

Treasure Cay and Marsh Harbour, in the Abaco Islands offer the best of the Bahamas and are an easy flight from Air Orlando.

Fly southeast over Vero Beach to Blufi intersection and then due east 60 nm to Freeport and then another 90 nm east to either MYAT or MYAM. At 8,000 to 10,000 feet, you are out of gliding distance of land for only about 10 minutes until within range of Grand Bahama Island.

The beaches are wonderful, snorkeling unparalleled, and people extraordinarily friendly. Just file a departure notice on eAPIS, file and activate a VFR or IFR flight plan, make the beautiful flight, clear customs with the friendly Bahamian customs officers, and then grab a cab to either beachside resort.

We usually rent a boat for the duration of our stay and have an incredible time snorkeling and enjoying the clear Bahamian waters. The diving and deep sea or flat fisshing are also favorite activities for many.

On the return, clearing customs in Ft. Pierce (KFPR) takes just a few minutes and then head on back to Air Orlando (KORL). Don't forget to file an arrival report using eAPIS and call to notify customs before leaving your departure airport.

A long weekend is great, but a full week is even better if you do some island hopping while in the Bahamas.

I recommend the Bahama Beach Club in Treasure Cay if you have at least 4 people and the Hope Town Harbour Lodge on Elbow Cay for just the two of you, a short ferry ride from Marsh Harbor.

Why Choose Air Orlando?

Our focus is on you – the customer.

1. You will receive the personal attention and quality of instruction you deserve and need to maximize your training experience.
2. You will be treated as a customer throughout your training experience, not a captive student – we want to earn your business every day
3. We will tailor the training to your needs, in terms of schedule and learning style
4. You will be assigned primary and secondary instructors – this team approach insures continuity and maximum instructor availability
5. Our instructors are professional, experienced, and well supervised. Many have decided to make pilot instruction their profession
6. You will follow a clearly defined training syllabus and plan that has proven effective
7. We will make sure your training progresses in the most efficient way, making the most of your training time and dollars.
8. We keep the joy in learning to be a pilot.

Our aircraft are equipped with the latest technology and maintained only to the highest standards.

1. You deserve to learn in aircraft that allow you to become comfortable with today’s technology from the very beginning.
2. Our aircraft are clean and maintained for maximum safety and reliability.
3. Our late model aircraft include the latest in safety features
4. Our fleet includes the best offered by Cessna, Diamond, and Cirrus aircraft

You deserve to deal with an honest company that acts with integrity.

1. Our pricing and payment policies will always be fair and reasonable
2. Our pricing will be competitive – but we will not try to be the lowest priced company if that means sacrificing what we deliver to you
3. We will deal honestly with you – no hidden charges – no traps like large withdrawal penalties - no large up front payments
4. We do not over commit to students – the ratio of students to airplanes and instructors will allow you to make constant progress and meet your scheduling objectives
5. We will do the right thing -- even when no one is looking

We intend to be Your Aviation Place! This means we will offer you opportunities you will not enjoy elsewhere. For example,

1. We offer aerobatic and advanced upset training in our Super Decathlon – to make you the best pilot you can be
2. You can transition into the 175 knot Cirrus SR-22 – a great traveling machine and preparation for flying advanced airline equipment
3. You can earn that helicopter add-on rating
4. After you have earned your PPL, you can rent our planes for that personal trip you would like to take
5. If you meet our standards, we would love for you to become one of our top notch CFIs

Please shop the competition, but do not be fooled by low prices that end up costing much more in the long run or deceptive marketing practices. When you look carefully, you will find that Air Orlando is the right company for you!!

Air Orlando Aviation Receives SEVIS Approval to Issue M-1 VISAs

Air Orlando has received SEVIS approval to train international students that would be in the US on an M-1 Visa!

Now international students can receive fixed wing and helicopter pilot training at Air Orlando Aviation -- in an atmosphere that emphasizes safety, customer service, and the most effective pilot training available!