How Hawkins Flight Academy Built a 0% Dropout Rate While the Industry Averages 80% | Matt Wilkins

Matt Wilkins was part of the 80% who started flight training and quit before finishing. He could not afford to keep going and did not have a clear path in front of him. Fast forward to today: Matt is the co-founder and COO of Hawkins Flight Academy in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and in two years of operation, his school has a 0% student dropout rate.

In this episode, Dan Gill sits down with Matt to talk through how Hawkins Flight Academy is built differently: program-based pricing that tells students their total cost before day one, a fleet of nine RV-12iSTs running Garmin G3X glass cockpits and Rotax engines burning 3.1 gallons per hour, a 3,000 square foot campus that started as a travel trailer on a gravel road, and a training culture built around mentorship instead of hour building.

Matt also gets into where light sport aviation is heading with the FAA's Mosaic rule changes, why Hawkins Adventure Flights exist, and how he and co-founder Mike Harris are working with Tennessee state legislators to open up the Tennessee Promise scholarship program to flight training students.

Hawkins Flight Academy is a Right Rudder Marketing client, and this is a conversation we are proud to share with every flight school owner listening.

What you will learn in this episode:
• Why program-based training eliminates the 80% dropout problem and how Hawkins has maintained a 0% dropout rate since opening
• The real cost difference between a Rotax-powered RV-12 at 3.1 gallons per hour and a Cessna 172 at 9-10 gallons per hour
• How Hawkins chose Shelbyville Municipal Airport knowing MTSU was about to move its 950-student program there
• What fleet commonality actually means for student training continuity and aircraft availability
• Why the FAA's Mosaic rule changes are about to open up light sport aircraft in ways most flight school owners are not planning for yet
• How Matt and Mike turned picking up new aircraft from the Vans factory in Aurora, Oregon into cross-country adventure training flights
• The case Matt is making to Tennessee legislators for opening the Tennessee Promise to flight training students
Timestamps
00:00 Dan intro and guest welcome
03:21 Matt introduces himself and Hawkins Flight Academy
04:28 Growing up in Madison, Alabama and the Glenn Curtiss family connection
09:26 Hearing NASA rocket tests as a kid and the road to Auburn
10:10 Getting his private pilot at Auburn and becoming part of the 80% dropout statistic
12:51 Flight training financing and the Tennessee Promise campaign
15:35 How to get into aviation without experience: the networking path
22:14 Choosing the right aircraft: Vector Harmony vs. Van's RV-12
25:11 Why Hawkins chose Shelbyville and the MTSU connection
27:50 Starting the school from a travel trailer on a gravel road
30:32 Fuel economy breakdown: 3.1 gal/hr vs. 9-10 gal/hr for a 172
33:20 Calling Vans Aircraft and meeting Tom in Chattanooga
40:35 Picking up RV-12s from the factory as cross-country training flights
48:52 Dan quizzes Matt on the four forces of flight (this did not go well)
51:51 FAA Mosaic rules and the future of light sport in actual IMC
52:21 Program-based training and the 0% student dropout rate
54:02 Fleet commonality: the Southwest Airlines model for flight schools
59:43 Hawkins Adventure Flights and why fun flying keeps students in training
1:00:17 Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri: flying somewhere worth landing

Guest and School Info
Matt Wilkins
Co-Founder and COO, Hawkins Flight Academy
hawkinsflight.com
Shelbyville Municipal Airport (KSYI), Shelbyville, TN
Tupelo Regional Airport (KTUP), Tupelo, MS

Links
Subscribe to The Aviation Business Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVkKix8mCxfOd8I6Wkff9DZz3WEIJKMPW

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HqS2ljQR33xof9Xnel9Aw?si=hLNuiWmsSQqKyWrV0Iyj6g

Full episode library: https://rightruddermarketing.com/podcast/
Is your flight school growing as fast as it should? Right Rudder Marketing builds and runs the full marketing system for flight schools across the United States. Schedule a strategy call: https://rightruddermarketing.com/schedule-call/

Видео How Hawkins Flight Academy Built a 0% Dropout Rate While the Industry Averages 80% | Matt Wilkins канала Right Rudder Marketing