Training pilots is a growth industry at Falcon Field

Four training facilities for aspiring pilots opened in 2007 at the airport at 4800 E. Falcon Drive, bringing the total flight learning centers to seven.
“We started as a flight school during World War II, and we’re continuing to grow in that direction,” said airport director Corinne Nystrom, who added that Falcon is among the top 10 busiest general aviation airports in the United States.
Unlike commercial airports that offer passenger service such as Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport or Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport , Falcon Field serves smaller, privately owned one- and two-engine airplanes.
Pilot training is one of Falcon’s fastest-growing enterprises.
The largest pilot-training school, Sabena Airline Training Center, moved its headquarters from Scottsdale Airpark to Falcon Field in February primarily for more space for its growing number of student pilots.
The other training centers are the two oldest — Arizona Aviation and Learn to Fly AZ, which started more than 20 years ago. Newer schools include Premier Helicopters, Regional Airline Academy, Sun Country Flight Services and X-Air. Sabena trains more than 400 students each year, all foreign students who are potential pilots for airlines in India and the Netherlands.
The student pilots pay between $30,000 and $40,000 for up to nine months of training, plus about $4,000 to rent nearby apartments. They attend classes in the center’s 30,000-square-foot school at 5010 E. Falcon Drive, sit in simulated airplanes, fly single- and twinengine planes with a trainer, and solo over the East Valley.
Van den Bergh said the center provides trained pilots for five Indian and European airlines, including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and SpiceJet Airlines of India. Students are renting more than 60 apartments in Mesa and nearby areas, he said.
Sabena Airline Training Center owns 40 airplanes and is planning to purchase 10 more. It has 100 employees, including 50 flight instructors, 25 mechanics and 25 on the administrative staff, and is planning to hire more people.
Nikhil Samuel Chavhan, 24, of Delhi, India, is completing an eight-month pilot training course that began in Australia and ended up in Mesa. He plans to join SpiceJet.
“Flying has always been my dream, mainly because my father is an ex-Air Force pilot,” said Chavhan, who holds a master’s degree in computer science.
Students at Arizona Aviation pay $4,500 on average for three to four months of training so they can qualify for FAA permits. Sun Country Flight Services and Premier Helicopters have leased office and classroom space from Tango One Aviation, a company that provides fuel and services for airplane owners.
29/12/07 Tony Natale/East Valley Tribune, AZ, USA