LIHU‘E — There’s nothing quite like flying a plane. With not much more than a stick, a rudder and an airfoil, a person can climb to incredible heights while watching the world they have left behind simply fall away. “Flying
LIHU‘E — There’s nothing quite like flying a plane. With not much more than a stick, a rudder and an airfoil, a person can climb to incredible heights while watching the world they have left behind simply fall away.
“Flying is empowering and liberating, because it’s a little bit of everything,” says Brian Fitchett, owner of the Garden Island Flying Club. “There are no stop signs or cars or traffic. It’s a little bit scary and the only thing that will make you sweat in your feet. It’s challenging.”
In July, Fitchett, 31, discovered a way to turn his love of flying into a business with virtually no initial capital investment. He decided to open his own flight school and named it the Flight School of Kaua‘i.
By lining up two local certified flight instructors and leasing a Cessna 177 from a private owner, his start-up costs were minimal. Students’ hourly fees for instruction and air time go directly to the hourly fees for the plane’s use and the CFI.
Joel Christopherson, one of the flight school’s CFIs, is a graduate of West Wind School of Aeronautics, has 4,000 hours of flight experience and is a flight tour operator.
“Teaching is something different from flying tours,” he said. “Instead of flying in circles, I get to teach someone something.” In learning to fly, “consistency is the key. Flying is a perishable skill. You have to keep up with it and know the weather well.”
One of Christopherson’s students, Micah Yoshiokas, 20, of Lihu‘e works as a ramp attendant for Hawaiian Airlines, but he dreams of becoming one of their pilots. Three months ago, he enrolled in Fitchett’s flight school and has since logged 15 hours of flight time.
To become a commercial airline pilot, Yoshiokas will need to obtain an air transport pilot’s license, and private pilot’s license is the first of many steps in the lengthy process. Fitchett’s flight school can bring Yoshiokas all of the way up to an instructor rating.
“One of the reasons we started this up is there was no flight school on island,” Fitchett said. “To fly, Micah would have to leave his family and go to O‘ahu to become a pilot.”
Without a local flight school, Micah said he wouldn’t learn to fly at all. “At Hawaiian Air, they don’t pay me enough to go to O‘ahu.”
Right now, he’s paying for his lessons “paycheck to paycheck.” He hasn’t done his first solo yet, which can be an adrenaline pumping experience for new pilots in training, and he says he’s a little nervous about it.
“A lot of people are scared of flying,” Fitchett said, “but once you overcome your fears, you’d be amazed what happens. Aviation opens a lot of doors with people in the community and internationally.”
Aside from commercial airlines, local industries pilots can into in Kaua‘i include tour companies, charters, cargo, aerial photography and corporate jets.
For Fitchett, a Class 3 private pilot, flying was a childhood dream that began when he was a little boy and his grandfather, a naval commander, would bring him toy airplanes.
While living in Palm Springs five years ago, he finally decided to make his dream a reality, and at the same time surprise his father and make him proud. His goal was to secretly finish his lessons and get his license by Father’s Day.
When the big day finally arrived, Fitchett told his father he had something special planned for him.
“We pulled up in front of the airport near a big sign that said Learn to Fly. I grabbed my flight bag out of the back of my car and led dad over to the plane. He said where’s the pilot? I said you’re looking at him. He started to cry.”
At the time, Fitchett was working in advertising at a Palm Springs newspaper. He had family in Hawai‘i and had always wanted to move to the islands, but his aunties told him he wouldn’t like it.
He eventually moved to Honolulu and began working in advertising for the Honolulu Advertiser, which is where he met his girlfriend. They decided to move together to Kaua‘i “because it looked a little better, the lifestyle.”
When they arrived, “everything came together almost like fate,” he said.
Now, Fitchett is enjoying getting his own Part 61flight school rolling and has already enrolled five students within the three months he has been open.
The airport’s fees are low, just $60 for a space, which he finds encouraging. The only challenge at this point, he said, is not having a hanger or office from which the CFIs can go over the ground portion of the students’ flight lessons. Instead, they have to use the lobby of the private-plane wing of Lihu‘e Airport.
Fitchett is also working on his teaching certification so he can also conduct flight lessons, and he’s looking into the possibility of having an aero camp for kids.
The school’s student rates are $159 per hour wet, meaning $6-per gallon aviation fuel included, and $195 per hour with an instructor. A minimum of 40 hours flight time is required for a private pilot license.
To help potential students determine whether flying is a good fit for them, Fitchett offers a first-flight discounted rate of $95 for a half hour all inclusive.
For more information, visit the Flight School of Kaua‘i at gardenislandflyingclub.com, e-mail brian@flightschoolkauai.com or call 652-7660.
