Zulu Flight Training, a new flight school with a unique concept, is opening this week in an urban shopping center in Spanish Fort, Ala., equipped with Redbird flight simulators. The flight school is owned by Continental Motors, which is headquartered in nearby Mobile. “Our training model is an adaptation of the Redbird Skyport, but rather than the customer going to the training, we bring the training to the customer,” General Manager Gloria Liu told AVweb. “The storefront is located right off a major highway and is very convenient to the population center.” Liu said the company has tried out its system in an in-house program for Continental employees with great success, and is now offering it to the general public at the new site.
“Students who don’t have the time to get to the airport during the week now are able to schedule weekday lessons,” Liu said. And since weather in the area tends to be rainy in the evenings, the simulators help to keep students on track during weeknights when they are free to spend time learning. “This has already proven to be very useful for keeping students going on lessons and maximizing skill retention,” Liu said. The school is offering a private pilot course at a flat cost of $8,500. Continental is interested in expanding the concept to other urban areas, Liu said, including Los Angeles and especially China, where general aviation training facilities are often far from urban centers. AVweb’s Mary Grady spoke with Liu for more details about the project; click here to listen to the podcast.
