AOPA and Sporty's Pilot Shop give free "Learn To Fly Here" road signs to 1,600 FBOs nationwide to promote flight training

Jan 26 ï¿½ AOPA and Sporty's Pilot Shop this month are sending free highway directional signs to 1,600 flight schools nationwide to mark the way to local flight training.

"We can tell you from personal experience, this sign works," said Sporty's chairman Hal Shevers, who also operates a flight school at Sporty's home base airport in Batavia, Ohio, southeast of Cincinnati.

"Sporty's and AOPA believe so strongly in the importance of promoting flight training that we're giving away highway signs to these flight schools. All they need to do is set them up on the route to their facility," said AOPA president Phil Boyer.

Many schools cut promotional efforts during the 15-year downturn in general aviation and flight training. Industry leaders believe flight schools must now ramp up promotion and become better marketers, rather than waiting for business to walk through the door - as happened before 1981.

A recent Flight Training magazine study reports that 33% of new student pilots surveyed chose a flight school because of location, and 10% of the new students said they "just happened upon" their flight school while driving around the airport.

Many prospective students may actually have difficulty finding a flight school on the airport during their first visit. The AOPA-Sporty's sign will help, while also reminding the public that flying is taught at that airport.

Boyer termed AOPA's role in the sign giveaway, "Just one more step in AOPA's ongoing effort to provide flight schools with materials that will help increase the number of new student pilots."

Sporty's President John Gauch added, "We hope this sign brings in many new students."

The reflective metal two-foot-by-two-foot "Learn to Fly Here" signs are traffic sign quality for durable mounting on standard sign posts. The design also features the silhouette of a general aviation aircraft to help define the concept of flight training.

"After many years of low student starts, we've got to take extraordinary steps to get flight training moving again," said Boyer.

"If flight school promotion budgets are so slim that new people can't even find the flight school, then AOPA and Sporty's are going to team up to buy `em a sign!"

Both Sporty's and AOPA are active Founding Members of the GA TEAM 2000 industry effort and its "Stop Dreaming. Start Flying." promotional campaign.

Sporty's and AOPA are two of four Platinum Level donors to the program, joining Allied Signal and Cessna as the largest financial supporters of GA TEAM 2000.

AOPA President Phil Boyer serves as president of GA TEAM 2000, working alongside GA TEAM 2000 chairman Edward W. Stimpson and other key industry leaders to help guide the industry-wide effort.

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