Kissimmee Airport home to aviation training

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  • One of Sunstate’s multi-engine aircraft used for commercial pilot training. PHOTO/SUNSTATE AVIATION
    One of Sunstate’s multi-engine aircraft used for commercial pilot training. PHOTO/SUNSTATE AVIATION
  • One of Sunstate’s multi-engine aircraft used for commercial pilot training. PHOTO/SUNSTATE AVIATION
    One of Sunstate’s multi-engine aircraft used for commercial pilot training. PHOTO/SUNSTATE AVIATION
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Every day this summer, we’ve heard of flight cancellations due to a lack of pilots and ready aircraft. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, this lack of trained, certified staff in the aviation industry was looming large, and then the pandemic spurred the retirements of the most seasoned pilots and mechanics.

In a two-part story, we look at local airport businesses involved with training new pilots and mechanics.

Several aviation businesses at Kissimmee Gateway Airport are collectively doing more than their share of training new professionals to fill the thousands of vacant jobs in aviation.

“Kissimmee Gateway Airport has the fortunate ability to support a robust aircraft flight instruction environment,” Airport Director Shaun Germolus said. “Currently, there are six fixed-wing flight instruction programs and a helicopter flight training program located here. Individuals have the ability to obtain their first flight hour and continue to advance, achieving their commercial airline transport pilot’s license.”

Pilot qualifications consist of both earning a pilot license and then accumulating flying time. All pilots start learning the basics at schools and airports like Kissimmee’s, and even while learning to fly in small aircraft, careerminded student pilots can be working on earning a commercial pilot or Airline Transport Pilot certificate at the same time.

Flight schools such as SunState Aviation, which has been operating at Kissimmee since 2002, is mostly geared towards training career commercial pilots. SunState is associated with Liberty University in Virginia and provides the flight training component for an otherwise all-online learning program.

“We could be two or three times busier if we wanted to be, the demand for flight training is so great now,” said owner Steve Graham.

Another flight training business, Aerostar Training Services, where Osceola native Deirdre Wilson is the owner and CEO of the company, takes it a step further. It has two full-motion, all enclosed, top-of-the-industry Level D Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 airliner simulators. Instruction time in these simulators, which is in very high demand, counts towards eventually being rated to fly these aircraft.

“Our simulators are in operation 24/7 except for maintenance time and a few holidays,” said Captain David Santo, who is one of the founders of Aerostar.

Once career pilots earn their basic license and endorsements to fly in poor visibility conditions, many choose to become instructor pilots to build their flying hours. After the minimum threshold of training and time have been met, they apply for regional airline First Officer (co-pilot) positions. From there it is a matter of “flying the line” to accumulate hours to become a regional primary pilot and then on to positions in larger aircraft.

Helicopter pilot instruction at MaxFlight Helicopters, a woman and veteran-owned business located off of Hoagland Boulevard, rounds out the flight training offerings at the airport.

Next week, we look at two businesses that are training aircraft mechanics and aircraft electronics technicians on the airport.

For more information on Kissimmee Airport, and the businesses located there, see https://www.flykissimmee.com