Flying school looks for new place to land

Texarkana Regional Airport is seen in December 2015.
Texarkana Regional Airport is seen in December 2015.

A recently opened private flight training school is seeking to re-locate on Texarkana Regional Airport property.

Owners of the Texarkana Flight Training School, located in one of TAC AIR's private hangars, approached the airport's Authority Board late last month about the possibility of constructing a school hangar and classroom building further north from their current location-possibly near the Texarkana Flying Club building, in the 100 block of Airport Drive.

Board members approved flight instructors Andy DeLeo's and Caleb Batista's concept of relocating their school, but the board also agreed to hold off on approving the school's building construction plans until further details could be worked out. The school has four to six pilot trainer aircraft, along with about 18 student-pilot candidates enrolled.

"We can approve the relocation concept, but we need to wait on the construction until we get more details on what the finished project will look like," said Board Member Wes Jordan, during the Board's March 28 regular monthly meeting.

DeLeo said both the hangar and the classroom could be in the same building.

"We would need to have normal hangar space, along with the classroom," he said.

Board members also suggested that one of their existing committees may need to study the concept further.

DeLeo said there is a shortage of commercial airline pilots-a shortage that has developed during the last 10 years.

DeLeo also said that pilot training could start for all interested students as early as age 16, adding that a person needs to be at least 17 to obtain a private pilot's license and 18 to receive a commercial pilot's license. As in years passed, pilot training includes basic, intermediate and advance levels.

After training at all three levels, pilots usually become instructor pilots before going on to work for either the airlines or commercial freight companies needing flight services.

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