I’ve got some news I’ve been waiting to share for a while. Compass and Prop now has a hangar in Neenah, Wisconsin.

The last four to six weeks have been a very exciting time. You can read more about the hangar process below, and that work has led straight into an aircraft acquisition process that’s currently in flight. So much learning, planning, and anticipating what’s next. We have a ton of interest from the community for training, and we’re working hard to help fill that gap. The future is exciting, and I think the next update will be even bigger.

This is a big deal for us and for the students we work with.

We Have a Hangar in Neenah

For the past year or so I’ve shared updates about working with local airports to find a permanent home for our flight training operation. The process has been slow. Municipal requirements, building costs, lease negotiations. I’ve learned more about airport economics and local government than I ever expected to.

It finally came together. Compass and Prop now has a hangar at Brennand Airport in Neenah, Wisconsin.

Having a dedicated space gives us a real home base, somewhere to build out a more formalized flight training program instead of piecing things together on the fly. That work starts now. We’re actively searching for an airplane, and more details will be coming soon.

We’re still operating at KOSH and that isn’t changing. Brennand is an addition, another base of operations and the foundation we’ve needed to grow.

More details to come as we get settled in. If you want to come take a look, get in touch and we’ll set something up.

The Real Reason Starting a Flight School Here Is So Hard

Last month I sat down with Gordon Hintz, the Winnebago County Executive, to talk about something that’s shaped a lot of the last few years of building this operation: airport minimum standards.

If you’ve wondered why it’s taken this long to find a home base, this is a big part of the answer.

What minimum standards are supposed to do

The FAA gives airports guidance on setting minimum standards for on-airport businesses, things like insurance requirements, equipment, and facilities. The intent is good. It’s there to make sure flight training operations are safe and professional.

What airports have done with them

In the Fox Valley, the minimum standards at Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac are all written in ways that make it extremely difficult for a new operator to get started. Fond du Lac actually comes in at the top of that list. High facility requirements, square footage thresholds, equipment mandates. The bar is set high enough that clearing it from day one is nearly impossible for anyone starting fresh.

Airport managers will often point to FAA guidance as the reason. But there’s a problem with that. The FAA is explicit that minimum standards cannot be used to protect existing tenants from competition. Airports receiving federal funds are not allowed to do this.

To their credit, Appleton and Oshkosh have at least been willing to have conversations about it.

Fond du Lac may be a different story. Another local instructor has told me that his lease there includes language preventing him from competing with Fond du Lac SkyPort. I haven’t reviewed the leases myself, so I can’t confirm how common that is. But if that’s accurate, it’s the kind of provision FAA policy is meant to prevent. It would be protection of an incumbent operator rather than anything to do with safety, at a federally funded public airport.

This is the kind of thing that kills general aviation. People who want to fly, who want to train, who want to build a business in aviation run into barriers. Those barriers aren’t there for safety. They’re there to protect market share. And most people don’t know they can fight it.

The process for challenging this runs through a formal FAA complaint, which is slow and not well known among people just trying to start a flight school.

The research

The report I put together for my meeting with Gordon looked at airports around the country comparable in size to Oshkosh, and many of them have found workable paths. Phoenix, for example, allows flight training operations with very limited facility requirements. The idea that high standards are the only way to run a safe airport just isn’t supported by how other airports actually operate.

If you’re facing this yourself

I’ve spent a lot of time in the weeds on this, reading standards, comparing implementations, and figuring out what the FAA actually allows versus what airports claim they’re allowed to do. If you’re trying to start an aviation business and running into barriers at your local airport, I’m happy to talk it through. That might mean helping you understand the landscape, looking at whether your airport’s standards hold up against FAA guidance, or thinking through how to approach conversations with airport management or local officials.

Reach out if that’s useful. This stuff shouldn’t stay as mysterious as airports often make it.

Tip of the Month: Start Your Clearing Turns to the Left

Before maneuvering, most pilots know to do clearing turns, but fewer think about which direction to start. Make it a habit to begin to the left.

The reason is simple. When an airplane is being overtaken, the faster aircraft is supposed to pass on the right. That airplane to your right may be hard to see depending on your blind spots, and if they’re doing the right thing by passing right, they’re exactly where you won’t be looking.

Starting your clearing turn to the left gives that overtaking traffic more room and more time. It’s a small habit that lines up with how the rules are written, and it adds a real margin of safety.

Pilots & Pastries

We’ve now had two of these, and the second was even bigger than the first. It was a great morning, with a real turnout of people who came out just to talk flying. That’s the whole point of them, and it’s been exciting to watch them grow.

Pilots & Pastries #3 is coming up on Saturday, June 27, 8:00–9:30 AM at the KOSH Terminal building. Same casual format. No RSVP needed, fly in or drive in, coffee and hangar stories. Come as you are and bring a friend. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

What’s Coming Up

EAA AirVenture (July 21–27). Less than two months out. Best airshow in the world, right at KOSH.

As always, if you have questions about training, want to schedule a flight, or just want to talk flying, reach out through our contact page. I read every one.

This has been a long time coming. Thanks for being part of it.

Blue skies,
Dan Lauerman
Compass and Prop Flight Training
920-358-0581
[email protected]
compassandprop.com