Tampa Bay Aviation, a flight school in Florida that offers training in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, has expanded.
The Pinellas-based company now offers flight lessons at Tampa Executive Airport (KVDF) in Florida.
The mom-and-pop flight school opened in 2012 with one plane and one helicopter based at Clearwater Airpark (KCLW) but has since grown to its current size with more than 300 student pilots enrolled, according to officials.
The flight school began operating at KVDF in late November 2022 and already has students lining up for lessons, according to Flint Crump, general manager for Tampa Bay Aviation.
“We’ve only been operating for about three months, but it’s already getting busy,” said Crump.
Students learn to fly in either a Robinson R-22 or the larger R-44. A minimum of 35 flight hours is required to earn a private helicopter pilot’s certificate.
For those unsure if flying a helicopter is for them, the school offers discovery flights for $189.
“You get about a half hour of actual flight time, and during the flight, you do get to put your hands on the controls and actually fly the helicopter,” said Crump. “I would say 90% of the people come out of the introductory flight saying they want to become a pilot.”