TAMPA — What started out as a small husband and wife aviation training school just a decade ago has now expanded into four airports across Tampa Bay. The latest is Tampa Executive, where the helicopter program is literally taking off.
Tampa Bay Aviation said they’re just trying to keep up with the growing demand when it comes to aspiring pilots
Moriah Lawrence is one of their latest students preparing for an exciting new chapter of life.
“I was walking one day on the beach and I saw an army helicopter fly over, and I was like, ‘this is something I really want to pursue,’ and I did an intro flight and I fell in love with it,” said Lawrence of Indian Rocks Beach.
Tampa Bay Aviation said their helicopter enrollment has doubled since 2019. They train anywhere between 30 and 40 students at any given time.
“With the demand for pilots both on the airplane and helicopter side, we’ve had the good fortune to be involved and ride the wave; coronavirus caused a lot of pilots to retire early,” said General Manager Flint Crump.
Some of these students are just looking for a new hobby, while for others, it’s the start of an aviation career.
“It will probably take them about 12 months, but after 12 months, you can go get a job, you can start making money,” said instructor Josh Montour.
Angelo Tesilianos hopes to use his training to save lives.
“I’d like to work for EMS just because they land everywhere, they pick up people and take them to the hospital, there is so much they can do,” said Tesilianos.
While Mark Burman wanted to spend his retirement hovering rather than golfing.
“The kids are out of the house and I got to a point where it’s always been a bucket list type thing, so I pursued it,” said Burman.
No prior experience is necessary. Moriah couldn’t believe how quickly she went from passenger to pilot.
“The first solo I did was a crazy feeling, the instructor gets out of the helicopter and he’s like, 'ok you are good to go, you’re good to fly,’ and I’m like, ‘are you sure,’ and he’s like, 'you’re good,' and I’m like, ‘ok’ and you’re up there doing your patterns,” said Lawrence.
For more information on Tampa Bay Aviation, go to tampabayaviation.com.
