• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Sporty’s battles student dropout rate

By Janice Wood · December 13, 2010 ·

Sporty’s Academy, the educational arm of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, recently participated in AOPA’s Flight Training Summit that focused on retaining more student pilots. One significant finding from AOPA’s research study was that fully two-thirds of student pilots describe their motivation for beginning flight training as primarily recreational.

Recognizing this fact, Sporty’s Academy, which conducts flight training under both FAA Part 61 and 141, has long used a modular approach to flight training. “We don’t focus solely on the private certificate,” said Sporty’s Academy President Eric Radtke. “Instead, we break the training syllabus into three manageable steps: The first solo, the recreational certificate and the private certificate.”

Sporty’s Academy enjoys a 70% retention rate — over 3½ times as high as the industry average — due to the confidence and motivation brought about by the modular approach to flight training, he noted.

While the first solo is well known as an important step in flight training, the recreational certificate is an under-appreciated tool, he adds. It provides students with a highly accessible short-term goal, resulting in customers flying sooner with a smaller upfront investment. At the completion of the recreational requirements, new pilots can participate in the typical flying that motivated them to learn: Flying friends and family from their home airport on pleasant days. And they can quickly move on to the private certificate if so desired.

“A dedicated student could be ready for a recreational checkride in a matter of days after their first solo,” said Radtke. “And while the majority of recreational pilots will then go on to earn their private certificate, they will do so from a position of success and enthusiasm.”

To support flight schools everywhere, Sporty’s offers the tools for flight schools and instructors to adopt this same strategy for success, with Sporty’s Complete Flight Training Course. The course (delivered on DVD or online) can be used in a modular format, and walks student pilots through each of the three main goals. Sporty’s Complete Flight Training Course is available in two parts: Private Pilot Part 1 includes the solo and Recreational Certificate; Private Pilot Part 2 takes students right through the checkride for the Private Pilot certificate.

For more information: Sportys.com

About Janice Wood

Janice Wood is editor of General Aviation News.

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Become better informed pilot.

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. Tom Frymark says

    December 14, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    Well, this is excellent news. I immediately went to Sporty’s Academy website for more information: http://sportys.com/academy/training.cfm They address many of the eleven pitfalls that were clearly identified by the AOPA study. Most importantly, quality of instruction and instructors, and value for the money seem to be important for Sporty’s success. I hope Sporty’s can and will disseminate some of this to FBOs. There is much more for our industry than selling training DVDs.

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines