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2 Answers

Strange goings on.

Asked by: 1396 views Flight Instructor

I have a question about what local municipalities and cites can charge in excess of what the FAA requires to be and work as an instructor. A flight school at the airport is working with a local municipality to do just that. The maintenance facility on the field has several airplanes that they rent out and myself and several others instruct students who have rented those planes. The municipality is trying to impose a $500.00 a yr fee at the insistence of the existing flight school on us for the privilege of instructing at that airport. Something seems fishy about the concept to me. The owner of the flight school is not a pilot. Has no experience running a flight school and seems only to want to make money by driving out in any way possible any other entity that might, in his estimation, be competing with his school. I've been instructing for over 20yrs and I've never heard of anything like this. The aforementioned flight school seems to want to be the only entity offering planes and instruction on the field. It is creating quite a storm on the field. My question is: have you ever heard of this kind of arrangement and is it legal or enforceable?

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2 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Dec 30, 2020

    Many airports impose requirements on airport businesses, from access fees to insurance. If your airport is receiving federal funding it might (emphasize “might”) raise discrimination issues if the flight school is being treated differently than other flight training operations. Without federal funding, there may or may not be applicable state law questions. Either way, the answer is a consultation with an attorney who understands both areas of the law, not SGOTI.

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  2. Gary S. on Jan 08, 2021

    Do you agree that a business can operate as they wish? A flight school may rule that only their instructors teach in their aircraft. That is their prerogative as an independent business. If you don’t want to abide by their rules, you are free to go somewhere else to teach.

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