What should I check before buying a flight school?

A flight school looks simple from the ramp: planes, instructors, students. Behind that sit maintenance obligations, a lease at the airport, money students have paid in advance and a small team that holds the school together. A careful buyer sorts these out before signing anything. Here are the areas to look at, and the questions to bring to each.

The aircraft and their records

Ask for the logbooks of every training aircraft and have a qualified maintenance person read them with you. Note how much time remains before major work such as an engine overhaul, and whether the seller has set money aside for it. Confirm which aircraft the school owns, which it leases and which belong to individuals. Check that your lender and insurer can accept the arrangement.

Instructors and students

Instructors often move on to other flying jobs, so ask how long the current team has stayed and what keeps them. Find out who the senior instructors are and whether they would stay under new ownership. For students, ask how training is paid for. If students prepay for blocks of lessons, you need to know what the school owes them on the day you take over.

Space, systems and the lease

Read the airport and hangar lease with your lawyer: its term, renewal rights, and whether it can pass to a buyer. Look at the simulator, the dispatch and scheduling software, and any maintenance tracking tools, and ask who holds the licences. Also ask how weather and seasons affect cancellations across the year, and what the books show.

Approvals and the sale itself

A school may operate under approvals from aviation authorities, and how those carry over is a legal question. Do not assume they transfer; ask your lawyer early. For a general method of looking at equipment, see our page on checking equipment condition, and for another kind of training business, see our driving school due diligence guide.