{"id":40379,"date":"2025-01-20T12:49:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T17:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=40379"},"modified":"2025-01-20T12:49:51","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T17:49:51","slug":"hewison-aviation-to-open-third-location-to-train-commercial-and-private-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/01\/hewison-aviation-to-open-third-location-to-train-commercial-and-private-pilots\/","title":{"rendered":"Hewison Aviation To Open Third Location To Train Commercial And Private Pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Maura and Christopher Hewison have established a flight school at the Saratoga County Airport to train aspiring pilots.
Courtesy of Hewison Aviation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Susan Elise Campbell<\/p>\n

For anyone north of the Capital District dreaming of learning to fly, the opportunity is now closer than ever. Husband-and-wife team Maura and Christopher Hewison have announced a third location for Hewison Aviation: the Saratoga County Airport, now under expansion and on track for a spring 2025 completion date.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were looking to get into Saratoga for the last two years,\u201d said Maura, who is operations manager for the flight academy Christopher founded in 2014 upon receiving his CFII. \u201cTwo of our instructors live in Saratoga and have been training clients at the South Albany Airport in Selkirk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operating out of Saratoga not only makes the commute easier for these instructors, but also opens up a clearer path for prospective pilots residing or working within a large radius around the county.<\/p>\n

Hewison Aviation also has a presence at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no civilian flight training in Saratoga now, but there is a helicopter flight school,\u201d said Hewison. \u201cThey send us flight students and we send them helicopter students.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Their student base ranges in age from 12 to 83 years old right now, Hewison said. Most are high school seniors, some have purchased a plane and \u201cjust want to have fun,\u201d and a few in their 20s are looking for a career change into the field of aviation.<\/p>\n

Because of the convenient new location, some students will be transferring from other flight schools, she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people are happy they will not have to travel to Albany,\u201d said Hewison.<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s not common knowledge, but just about any ordinary person can become a pilot.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think pilots come from this special place that no one knows about,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re pretty surprised when they learn they can train, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

A physical space is required at an airport to do the classroom training, as well as an FAA-approved hangar for the planes. Hewison said their classes are regulated by the FAA under Part 61 and Part 141. The Part 61 school is more relaxed and personalized, whereas Part 141 is more structured and standardized, but the tests and the certifications are the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got permanent Part 141 approval from the FAA in December,\u201d she said. \u201cIt took four and a half years to get the status and then another two years of perfect records to prove our compliance and that we passed the required number of students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saratoga County Airport was already under construction when the Hewisons applied to bring their flight school to the community. She said she toured the facility and the classroom area two months ago and \u201creally liked\u201d what she saw.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks great and the people are super friendly,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are on the list for private hangar space because it\u2019s better not to share hangar space.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hewison said that even if they were not to secure permanent hangar space there, they will still train out of Saratoga County Airport as they have been since December.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can just fly in and then fly out,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are 11 experienced flight instructors serving the Albany-Saratoga area for Hewison now and business is poised for growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is going to be a great opportunity to be established in Saratoga,\u201d she said. \u201cPersonally, if I lived in Saratoga, I would not want to drive an hour through Albany, do my two-hour flight training, and then drive back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hewison Aviation will also be offering drone training from Saratoga County Airport, a service that is absent in the area now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have a huge presence in Rome, and I think a lot more people here are getting into drones,\u201d she said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t advertised it, but I believe this area will be a good audience for certification so our students can operate drones safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a pilot shortage upstate at this time, Hewison said. But she is getting calls from seniors in high school who would like to obtain their private pilot\u2019s licenses before going off to college this fall. Some have the potential goal of a career with the airlines.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to go through the military to be a commercial airline pilot and you can start at any age,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you have to be 17 to get your pilot\u2019s license.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these young people are flying planes even before they can drive a car,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Maura and Christopher Hewison said they are eager to see how aspiring pilots, both commercial and recreational, will respond to the Saratoga school. They have no plans to open other schools in other upstate communities at this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always want our business to have that Mom and Pop feel,\u201d she said. \u201cI answer all the phone calls, meet with each student, do the orientation, and then hand them off. I don\u2019t ever want to lose that quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hewison Aviation celebrated its 10th anniversary last summer. Learn more about the company\u2019s history, instructors, fleet, and more at hewisonaviation.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Susan Elise Campbell For anyone north of the Capital District dreaming of learning to fly, the opportunity is now closer than ever. Husband-and-wife team Maura and Christopher Hewison have announced a third location for Hewison Aviation: the Saratoga County Airport, now under expansion and on track for a spring 2025 completion date. \u201cWe were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":40380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nHewison Aviation To Open Third Location To Train Commercial And Private Pilots - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/01\/hewison-aviation-to-open-third-location-to-train-commercial-and-private-pilots\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hewison Aviation To Open Third Location To Train Commercial And Private Pilots - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Susan Elise Campbell For anyone north of the Capital District dreaming of learning to fly, the opportunity is now closer than ever. 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