Presenter Email
Katie.Pribyl@aopa.org
Location
Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center (Bldg. #602)
Start Date
8-14-2017 10:30 AM
End Date
8-14-2017 11:45 AM
Submission Type
Presentation
Keywords
Aviation, flight training, flight schools
Abstract
Up to 80 percent of those who begin flight training drop out without ever earning a pilot certificate. That’s an alarming and unsustainable statistic for schools, instructors, and the entire aviation industry. But it’s also a figure we believe we can change. The reasons for the high dropout rate are complex and include lack of perceived value, ineffective instruction, lack of customer focus, and failure to educate students as consumers, among others.
The concerns are not new, but many flight schools have failed to effectively address these and other issues that affect student performance and retention. Why? Because very often the schools themselves lack the tools, knowledge, skills, and support to make the changes needed to deliver a better training experience.
Research into the differences between struggling and successful flight schools conducted for AOPA in 2016 confirms that notion. In response to in-depth phone interviews, flight schools produced a long and varied list of concerns and needs around tracking student progress, financial management, improving customer service, expanding business skills, marketing, managing personnel, safety and business oversight, and airport relations, among others.
We believe the industry can help schools deliver an optimized training experience—one that leaves students feeling good about their investment in training and excited to take the next steps. With the right help schools can grow, attract more students, and ensure that more of the students who start flying not only earn a certificate but also become active, engaged, and safe members of the aviation community.
Presenter Biography
As leader of AOPA’s aviation strategy and programs division, Katie is responsible for its You Can Fly program and the Air Safety Institute. Under the You Can Fly umbrella, Katie and her team are building initiatives designed to get lapsed pilots back in the air, provide more affordable access to aviation through flying clubs, support best practices in flight training, and introduce high school students to aviation. The AOPA Air Safety Institute has been producing free programs with the goal of helping pilots fly safer for more than 60 years. From groundbreaking online courses, to popular live seminars and videos, ASI covers the spectrum of aviation safety education.
Katie earned a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and flew the Canadair Regional Jet with Atlantic Coast Airlines/Independence Air before serving as the director of communications for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
Katie is also a CFI and rated seaplane pilot. Her idea of the perfect weekend involves flying her 1956 Cessna 180 Skywagon in her home state of Montana.
Original PowerPoint, Full-res
The Optimal Flight Training Experience
Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center (Bldg. #602)
Up to 80 percent of those who begin flight training drop out without ever earning a pilot certificate. That’s an alarming and unsustainable statistic for schools, instructors, and the entire aviation industry. But it’s also a figure we believe we can change. The reasons for the high dropout rate are complex and include lack of perceived value, ineffective instruction, lack of customer focus, and failure to educate students as consumers, among others.
The concerns are not new, but many flight schools have failed to effectively address these and other issues that affect student performance and retention. Why? Because very often the schools themselves lack the tools, knowledge, skills, and support to make the changes needed to deliver a better training experience.
Research into the differences between struggling and successful flight schools conducted for AOPA in 2016 confirms that notion. In response to in-depth phone interviews, flight schools produced a long and varied list of concerns and needs around tracking student progress, financial management, improving customer service, expanding business skills, marketing, managing personnel, safety and business oversight, and airport relations, among others.
We believe the industry can help schools deliver an optimized training experience—one that leaves students feeling good about their investment in training and excited to take the next steps. With the right help schools can grow, attract more students, and ensure that more of the students who start flying not only earn a certificate but also become active, engaged, and safe members of the aviation community.
Comments
Presented during Session 1 (cont.): Advances in Flight Training