Sports flying does not involve a separate set of skills from those exhibited by a traditional pilot. The difference is in the licensing process. “To get a regular pilot’s license, you have to meet certain medical criteria,” he explained. “But to [earn] a sports pilot license, all you need for medical [background] is a valid driver’s license.”
“There are some restrictions, such as daytime only and clear-weather flying only, and you still have to have a certain number of hours in the air,” he explained, “but [the sports pilot license] is especially good for the baby boomers who may have some extra money and want to learn to fly.” Tibbetts has been concentrating on marketing this concept around the country.
“In Sebring, Fla., they just had a convention for airline services and sports pilots. I had a display booth there; I got more work than I can handle!” he said.
With two Ph.D.’s, marketing has been on Tibbets’ mind for a long time. “At the start of my career, I went through 18 months of training with Booz Allen Hamilton, a huge consulting firm,” he remembered. “They put us in a big corporation, trained us for six months, and then started to give us responsibility for direction and implementation. And then after 18 months they pulled out and we stayed as an internal consulting firm. Today there’s a tremendous opportunity for internal consulting, if you don’t want to be an independent.”
The Internet has proved to be a valuable resource in his marketing arsenal. “Anyone who is participating in any recreational sport goes through anywhere from half a dozen to 100 websites related to the activity,” he said. “If it’s golf, they want to know about the weather. I’m in southern Florida, the thunder capital of the world. If you get a roll-in thunderstorm and you’re standing there with a steel-shafted golf club, you’re a lightning rod.”
He describes marketing via cyberspace as more strategic. “Now you need to know more about the individual participating and specialized criteria.” Despite these new challenges, Tibbetts is optimistic about the pattern of growth in his industry. “I can’t overemphasize how much of an impact the baby boomers will have on recreational sports.”
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