Want to fly? Private teacher says responsibility, rewards are great

James Gallagher teaches people the “rules of the road” where there is no road. He trains aspiring pilots, stressing that operating an aircraft is not just for the wealthy. “Flying is a wonderful tradition and freedom that our country offers,” he says, “and people need to be exposed to its benefits and joys.”

Describe your business.

We offer a comprehensive aviation ground school to student pilots. The course I teach is for beginner pilots, kind of like a driver’s education course for airplanes.

Who are your customers?

I have taught students who want to fly for recreation, those who want to fly professionally, and those who want to be military aviators.

My first student now flies a medium-sized business jet around for his company. Another student of mine now flies professionally for Hawaiian Airlines. Other students have purchased airplanes and like to fly for fun on the weekend.

What is your business philosophy?

I believe in continuous improvement to offer the best product I can. If my students have questions after class, I will stay long after until they satisfactorily understand whatever they are confused about. In aviation, you are always learning. I may be a teacher now, but I am always a student of the sky.

I’m also not afraid to realistically outline the risks of flying to my clients. They need to know the risk they are undertaking every time they climb into an airplane. Aviation is not 100 percent safe but every day, thousands of flights are made across the country in small airplanes without any problems. It is my obligation, though, to prepare them for problems that can arise.

Why did you decide to open an aviation ground school in North Las Vegas?

I have been a flight instructor since 2007 and taught people to fly small airplanes at all of my military assignments throughout the country. I realized there were many students missing fundamental skills and knowledge about airplanes when beginning to fly.

When my wife and I moved to Las Vegas from Dayton, Ohio, we found that there really was no organized ground school outside of some of the local colleges. We wanted to offer the same opportunities here to the general public just as we have in other parts of the country.

What are the fundamental skills necessary to flying?

One basic skill is simply hand-eye coordination. On the ground, you drive the airplane with your feet. In the air, you must be able to navigate the plane with the controls.

Further in the air, you have to be able to multitask. You will be talking on the radio while inputting navigation points while also flying the plane.

Another skill needed is discipline. Flying takes a lot of work, especially when you are learning. Do the homework! You really need to dive into the books and take the time to understand everything.

What is the hardest part about doing business in Las Vegas?

My wife and I are new to Las Vegas, so we’re still trying to become familiar with the area and the aviation culture. Back in Ohio, my ground school classes were full of eager students. We’ve noticed that aviation ground schools are not the norm for learning how to fly in Las Vegas. I think the biggest difference is that there are a lot of other things that are competing for your money here. In Ohio, it was great to take a ground school in a nice, warm building while avoiding the sub-zero winter months. Here, you can hop over to Red Rock and get a nice hike in during those nice winter months.

To combat this, we need to be better about explaining the value that aviation can provide. For example, I fly over I-15 from time to time on Sunday, and I see the parking lot that it becomes if you want to go south. In our Bonanza, I can get to Los Angeles from Las Vegas in an hour and a half.

While the airlines are quick, you still have to get to McCarran and go through the hassle that is involved there. With a little airplane, I skip all those extra steps of the big airports, and I don’t even want to begin thinking about driving in traffic.

General aviation has a lot of real value that most people don’t realize. I swipe my key card at North Las Vegas, go to my hangar, drag the airplane out and go. With my iPhone or iPad, I can instantly file flight plans, plot courses and get all of the information that is pertinent to the flight quickly to wherever I’d like to go.

What is the best part about doing business in Las Vegas?

The best part is meeting the diverse people who live here. There are so many interesting people in this world and when you spend a lot of time with them in a classroom or one-on-one in an airplane, you get to learn a lot about them.

What obstacles have your business overcome?

The biggest obstacle has been relocating. We had to find a place to run our class, register our business and, of course, try to find new customers.

We are focusing a lot of time into educating future customers about the benefits of an aviation ground school. Our first class is free, so students will be oriented into the outline of the class. There’s no pressure to continue the class if it’s not right for them, but we want to inform people of the opportunities and benefits the class can provide. We simply require an RSVP, so my wife can make enough cookies.

How can Nevada improve its business climate?

My wife and I went to Ohio State, so let me preface this that we are slightly biased (go Bucks!). In all seriousness though, I think Nevada should study a city like Columbus. Columbus has been a major economic driver for Ohio because of the diverse range of businesses and industries there.

During the recession, Columbus still grew while the rest of Ohio didn’t do as well. Columbus has state and federal government, defense industries, education, healthcare, finance, energy, automotive, agriculture, gaming, retail sales and transportation. Some of the big companies there are Ohio State University, the Limited Brands, Netjets, Honda, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Nationwide Insurance, Cardinal Health, American Electric Power, Abercrombie & Fitch, Whirlpool, Gap, Battelle, DHL, Time Warner Cable, Defense Logistics Agency.

Those companies represent a lot of different industries. People like to say that Columbus is “recession-proof,” and I think Nevada should move toward attracting a more diverse economic base so when the lows are low, they can rely on a multitude of industries to revive it.

What have you learned from the recession?

The recession affected aviation as a whole. The small airplane market was particularly hit hard, with major names in the industry restructuring, merging, or just going out of business. When the recession hit, people didn’t travel as much and luxury items like little airplanes fell to the wayside. New sales for airplanes languished. As the economy rises, I think it’s important to show the benefits of aviation.