KUAO Students and Members,

This is a challenging time, with quickly changing information and circumstances that requires us to have a flexible response. The health and safety of our members and staff is our utmost priority. In consideration of the current CDC recommendation, we will be implementing “modified After-Hours
procedures” beginning Wednesday, March 25th. All aircraft binders/dispatch books will be placed in the After-Hours box. Current maintenance squawks and applicable inspection times can be found on Flight Schedule Pro. Front desk staff will still be available by phone or email. Certified pilots are welcome to self-dispatch the aircraft from this room in the same way you would for an early morning or evening flight.

All flight reservations booked with an instructor will be checked out and checked back in by the instructors.

All student solo flights are prohibited during this time except with the express written permission of the primary instructor. The instructor will then contact the Chief/Assistant Chief (this can be done via email or text).  Student solo flights must be scheduled with their primary instructor on the reservation.  The student’s instructor will be available and dispatch the flight accordingly.

While the lobby remains closed, we will work to ensure documents such as aircraft checkout, TOLD sheets, etc. are available in the After-Hours Room; as always are on the pilot resource page of our website.

If you choose to use aircraft/briefing rooms/classroom rooms/Redbird please wipe down the area before and after use. We are providing Ziplock bags with 2 sanitizing wipes in each bag for your convenience – our stock is not unlimited so please keep this in consideration. These precautions are not just recommended but are required for the health and safety of our staff and members.

Members who are not with an instructor but are qualified for the aircraft they want to rent and who have all the proper  documentation/credentials/endorsements on their FSP profile can reserve an aircraft as usual but will need to phone or email the front desk prior to their arrival so that the plane can be dispatched by our staff. A copy of the dispatch sheet will be emailed to them. They are expected to print it out prior to flying the plane, verify the starting times and maintenance reminders, and fill in the ending Hobbs/Tach times or any squawks as per our normal operations and then deposit the sheet in the new after-hours box where we have secured a depository for them.

All Members are of course able to call the main office number with any concerns or questions. We are making every effort to staff the phone during normal business hours to respond to our customer’s needs. In addition, Members are encouraged to email the front desk with any information that they wish to relay and someone will respond to you in a timely manner.

We understand that these dispatch changes are new and will take some getting used to; however, they are necessary to continue to protect the health of our staff and customers. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we all adjust to these changes. We deeply value our employees and customers and want to help everyone through this hard time by providing a safe and fun environment for continued flight training and flying.

Aurora Flight Training Front Office