Chesapeake Sport Pilot in Stevensville, Md., has become the first light sport flight school in the nation to exceed 10,000 flight hours on its fleet of Light Sport Aircraft (LSA).
Started in early 2007 as a one plane operation, Chesapeake Sport Pilot has grown to seven airplanes, more than a dozen instructors, and approximately 60 students in training at any given time.
“When we started CSP, we didn’t know what to expect. Thinking back to January 2007, we didn’t expect to become this big,” explained CSP owner Tim Adelman. “We are excited that our passion for aviation is shared so enthusiastically by all those involved, including our staff, instructors, students and renters.”
“Reaching 10,000 hours is really about the professionalism of our staff,” explained Adelman, noting that many are retired airline or military pilots. “When you have Naval and Air Force aviators, captains of Boeing 777s and a staff averaging nearly 10,000 hours each, the level of aviation expertise at CSP is truly remarkable.”
CSP also boasts a diverse customer base, he said, with customers ranging from teens exploring aviation for the first time to senior citizens working on a rating or getting back into flying after a long layoff. Jim Depfer, one of CSP’s graduates explained, “It was an unbelievable enjoyable experience being a small part of such a fantastic accomplishment of CSP reaching 10,000 hours. Being an older person that finally satisfied my dream of learning to fly makes me feel proud of accomplishing that dream with CSP and being a small part of those 10,000 hours.”
CSP also has embarked on a variety of community service activities. It is an official squadron of the Youth Aviation Adventure boy and girl scout program and frequently hosts Young Eagle rallies and wings seminars. “It is our mission as a school not only to produce well trained pilots, but to produce active and involved aviation citizens,” explained CSP Chief Flight Instructor Helen Woods. “Involving our students, graduates, and other customers in community service projects is a vital part of that goal.”
CSP graduate Tim Cochran explained, “CSP not only allowed me to fulfill my life-long dream of becoming a pilot, but supports and encourages me to introduce others to the dream of flight through volunteer and community service opportunities.”
While excited to exceed the 10,000 hour mark, CSP is even more excited about the future. In 2008 CSP, under the guidance of Rotax certified 22-year IA mechanic, Jamie Shimer, opened a full service light sport, experimental, and traditional aircraft maintenance facility housed in its new 6,000-square-foot hangar at Bay Bridge Airport. In 2009 CSP became the Mid Atlantic and North East dealer for SeaRey, the best selling light sport amphibian in the US, and this year became the US distributor for the Auto Gyro gyroplane.
“CSP’s mission is to make flying accessible, affordable, and fun,” explained Woods. “While I believe we’ve done a good job at this over the past four years, I’m even more excited about what the future holds.”
For more information: 410-604-1717 or ChesapeakeSportPilot.com
