WACO, Texas — When Waco Flying Service began operating as a one airplane, one instructor flight school in 2009, its two-man team had big dreams of improving the services provided to student pilots. They succeeded, and that success attracted investment and some big ideas.
Enter Clark Brooks, who purchased the company in December 2010 and rebranded it to its current name to reflect the wide range of aviation services that he hoped to one day offer.
“I saw a need — locally, regionally, and nationally — for an FBO that operated like we did during the golden age of general aviation. We need to get these guys who own their own small airplanes back into aviation. Maybe they’ve been scared away by high fuel prices, maybe by bad service experiences, but they needed a place where they’d be treated just as well as the guys flying in with Gulfstreams and King Airs,” says Brooks.
Soon after acquiring the business, Brooks and his financial backer, his dad Joe Brooks, embarked on the mission of building a new facility on the Waco Regional Airport, along with an aviation fuel farm providing self and full-service fuel for both piston and jet aircraft.
The new Waco Flying Service facility boasts nearly 12,000 square feet of aircraft storage as well as a lobby/boarding lounge, secured guest WiFi access, a “smart” conference room, a pilot shop, and a full range of FBO services. The company is a member of the Avfuel fuel distribution family.
The company also stayed true to its roots, moving its flight school right in with the FBO operation. The flight school has a fleet of six aircraft, and teaches primary through multi-engine and flight instructor students. It also specializes in tailwheel and turf strip flying, and is a factory-licensed training center and dealer for American Legend Aircraft’s Legend Cub line of aircraft.
“All in all,” says Brooks, “we want people to remember why they got into flying in the first place. To do that, you kind of have to look ‘back to the future.’ We aim to provide old fashioned service in a state-of-the-art facility, and I think our customers will agree we’ve achieved our goal.”
For more information: 254-752-4100, Fly254.com
