New opportunities might be on the horizon for Columbus Municipal Airport and students at Ivy Tech Community College — Columbus.
Airport director Brian Payne said that the airport is looking to see if the Leadership in Flight Training (LIFT) Academy is still interested in having a satellite campus in Columbus.
LIFT Academy is owned and operated by Republic Airways. The school is based at the Indianapolis International Airport. Travel Weekly reports that it is the only flight training school in the United States that is owned by an airline.
“Students who successfully complete the program will have a preferred pathway to a career as a pilot with Republic Airways,” LIFT’s website promises.
Payne said that the hardwood company Danzer Veneer is looking to sell its building for approximately $400,000, and the board is considering purchasing the property and leasing it to LIFT Academy.
“There has been some discussion about LIFT Academy bringing down approximately five aircraft to do flight instruction here, as kind of a satellite campus,” Payne said.
Payne said while the airport has been in talks with LIFT for some time, the school has been somewhat quiet recently.
“I’m sure everyone has seen the news come out about Republic Airways laying a bunch of pilots and mechanics and such off just recently,” he said. “So they’ve (LIFT) become very quiet within the last few weeks now, so we will try to get back with them and see what their interest level is in about bringing aircraft here and how that would work.”
The Indiana Business Journal reported that Republic Airways is laying off about 300 of its Indianapolis employees and about 2,500 employees across its “base network.”
“So I don’t know if that’s (the layoffs) affected LIFT Academy,” Payne said. “It certainly could have.”
The airport still plans to reach out to the school to see if it is still interested in the possibility of a satellite campus in Columbus. Payne said that if LIFT is still interested, next steps would depend on what kind of facility the school is looking for from the airport.
“It depends, again, on whether or not they want a certain hangar,” he said. “If we can provide them a hangar and lease that back, the airport would have to go and get some appraisals on what the price of that hangar would be.”
Payne also said it’s possible that LIFT might look to partner with Ivy Tech Columbus’s aviation program.
“So they (students) could live here in student housing and hopefully go to school at Ivy Tech and take their flight instruction through LIFT Academy,” he said.
Chris Schilling, director of marketing and communications for Ivy Tech Columbus, said, “At this time, we have not had detailed discussions concerning a partnership with LIFT Academy. However, Ivy Tech Columbus welcomes the opportunity to work with any partner that could provide beneficial experiences for our students.”
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LIFT Academy is owned and operated by Republic Airways. The school is based at the Indianapolis International Airport.
According to the school’s website, students at LIFT can complete the program at their own pace, and an accelerated track to graduation can be completed in as little as 12 months.
Students who complete the entire program earn a private pilot certificate, an instrument rating, a multi-engine certification, a commercial certificate and a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) certificate. Students are then able to work as paid CFIs while working towards the Airline Transport Pilot requirement of 1,500 hours.
“Students who successfully complete the program will have a preferred pathway to a career as a pilot with Republic Airways,” the site states.
LIFT Academy currently has a training partnership with Vincennes University (VU). According to a release from the university, VU flight students will complete their training at LIFT, and LIFT students have the option of pursuing an online associate degree from the university.
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